


Evermore

by LadyJWolf



Series: Evermore [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Chems and Alcohol, Dark Comedy, Drama & Romance, Explicit Language, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, It's Hancock how could there not be?, Slight Cannon divergence, or at least my attempt at it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-31 13:28:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 38,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15120380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyJWolf/pseuds/LadyJWolf
Summary: When your son is a synth and your husband a ghoul, one's own mortality becomes painfully apparent. It's been a year since Lenore "Nora" Brennan and John Hancock destroyed The Institute and they've been busy. So much so, that Edward Deegan has taken notice and requests their assistance. When presented with a chance at immortality, how far is Nora willing to go?





	1. Chapter 1

They were several rounds into what was shaping up to be an excellent night at The Third Rail. Alchohol and chems were making the rounds courtesy of Hancock, and so the majority of the patrons were either drunk, high or a bit of both. As word spread through Goodneighbor that the Mayor was footing everyone's tab, more and more residents had turned up. Even Magnolia had taken an impromptu night off.

"This is our night, and I'm feelin' a bit generous. Of course, that could be the Mentats talking but what the hell! Charlie, everything's on me tonight!" He'd announced shortly after their arrival. The Rail had erupted in cheers, and a few people had loudly suggested the pair take nights off more often.

Nora sincerely wished they could, but it had taken a lot of planning, begging, and organizing for the two of them to both get this time away. Between Hancock's mayoral duties and her obligations as General of the Minutemen, they were regularly being called on to solve one crisis or another. In the year since they'd blown up The Institute, news had spread through the Commonwealth who had been behind it. After that folk from all over headed to Goodneighbor or sent word to the Minutemen whenever they needed assistance. Hancock's people knew how to get word to them whenever the Mayor wasn't in residence because thanks to Radio Freedom Nora was always in touch no matter where they were. It got a bit overwhelming at times being everyone's default problem solvers. _But we bring it on ourselves really_ , she laughed to herself, _neither one of us can turn someone away if they genuinely need the help._ Despite loving every second, solving the Commonwealth's problems one settlement and raider gang at a time while trying to be halfway decent parents to Shaun wasn't easy. Especially since they had agreed not to let Shaun see them using chems. Which wasn't to say they were completely clean, the Jet and Mentats stashed under their bed in Sanctuary and strewn over the table in front of them could attest to that, but they had cut back a lot the since bringing him home. She had gotten in the habit of indulging only after he was asleep for the night. Jet was her preferred vice, it had a way of just slowing everything down, and it helped her quiet all the noise in her head.

 _Funny how becoming a mother really ramps up the anxiety._ Looking back it wasn't until she'd found her kidnapped son that her mothering instincts had kicked in with a vengeance. Almost overnight her mind had begun spinning every scenario in which she could lose him again in this dangerous new world. _Raiders, Gunners, Super Mutants - I deal with them on a regular basis, and they're nothing. But Shaun? No, I can't handle thinking of him faced with that._ For the first few weeks, she wouldn't even let him go for a walk with Dogmeat past the bridge that lead out of Sanctuary. It began irritating him to no end, and they'd had several fights about it. That was when Hancock had suggested he could take "the kid" up on the hill where Vault 111 was for target practice. It had been the best idea he'd ever had. Shaun turned out to be a quick study, he just listened and absorbed everything Hancock said to him. Which shouldn't have surprised her given that her son was, in fact, a synth. _If anything I should be less worried given that he's stronger and faster than most humans, not that he knows that yet._ No, the knowledge that the boy she considered her son was, in reality, a synth programmed with his personality only added to the things she worried about. _Synths don't age. He's going to be a ten-year-old boy forever. What's going to happen to him when I'm gone?_ She didn't like to think about the fact that eventually he'd figure out his mother was growing older and he was not. Worse still he'd be trapped in that child's body while everyone around him aged and died. Well, everyone except Hancock. _Even on the one night we're supposed to be taking for ourselves, I'm still worrying. Snap out of it Lenore._

A hand on her shoulder and a familiar voice pulled her back into the present, "So what's this I hear about you bringing me a special treat tonight. Or was that just to lure me outta my shop so you could see this gorgeous figure of mine?"

"Daisy! Yes to all of it, you need to get out of that shop more. But I did bring you something. You're gonna love this." She reached into her bag and pulled out a dark bottle with a very faded label. It took the ghoul a moment to decipher the name, but once she did, she burst out laughing.

"Well if that isn't the darndest thing, where did you find this?" She joined MacCready on the couch opposite Nora and Hancock still marveling at the find.

"Basement of The Castle, there was only one case, so I'm saving it for special occasions, like tonight."

The two women discovered their mutual love of books when Daisy had asked her to clear out the Boston Public Library. Nora had lamented that so many great authors appeared to be lost, most notably the one who's poem contained her namesake. Lenore "Nora" Brennan had become fast friends with the shop owner after that. Finding the case of uniquely named wine had been a treat she couldn't keep to herself.

Mac leaned over to peer at the bottle as Daisy opened it and poured them all glasses. "Now fill me in on why this, Armadillo, wine is supposed to be so special?"

"Oh dearie, we're going to have to work on your pronunciation," Daisy playfully chided him. "It's from an old book. We're talking before my time even. Someone slapped the name on this stuff probably hoping to sell it to us fans of the macabre."

Daisy seemed to enjoy her gift thoroughly, and it made Nora glad. Having a friend who understood a part of her world that others just couldn't was one of the things that made her feel at home here. She wanted Daisy to know that she was appreciated. The three of them talked for the next few hours about various books and comics. Nora and Daisy reminisced about their favorites and Mac would join in whenever Grognak came up. The whole time she was enjoying herself Hancock was just sprawled out next to her, his arms and head draped over the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling with a goofy grin on his face. _How high is he right now? Or are we boring him to death, maybe a bit of both?_

As the next song started on the radio, she poked him in the ribs. "Get up and dance with me, lover."

He looked at her and pointed straight up into the air, "To this? Nah, I'm gonna wait for our song."

"Aww, I didn't know you were so romantic, Hancock." Daisy teased, and she and Mac got up as well.

He laughed as Nora pulled him to his feet, "Heh, not so much Daze, our song is Rocket 69."

The crowd had already pushed most of the tables to the side, clearing the middle of the bar so people could dance. Once they had joined the throng, Hancock seemed to perk up more, chatting with folks here and there, trading corny jokes and chems with anyone who approached them. This was him in his element, charismatic man of the people. She was glad he seemed to be having a better time, they should both be enjoying the night. Who knew when they'd get the chance to take another. They danced until the crowd thinned out and then moved to the bar to drink. Technically The Third Rail never closed, but there came a point in every night when all but the most dedicated drunks headed home. That night they were amongst the dedicated.

"C'mon Chuck give us another round," Hancock was imploring the Mr. Handy that tended the bar, "Charlie, Chaaarlieee, the night's still young don't cut us off now! This is my bar dammit..."

But before Whitechapel Charlie could colorfully tell them to sod off a throat cleared behind them and a raspy voice said, "You there. We need to have a conversation."

"Do we know you?" Nora inquired of the ghoul wearing almost full combat armor standing behind them.

"No, but I've heard of you. I'm always looking for people who know how to handle themselves in dangerous situations. The name's Edward Deegan by the way."

She turned to Hancock and threw her hands in the air, "I just wanted one damn night off!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Hell of a night_ , Hancock thought as he laid with Nora in his room at the State House that morning, _folks'll be talking about that one for a long while._ Of course, he knew it would pain him a bit whenever Whitechapel Charlie tallied up the bill, but what use is procuring wealth if you're not gonna throw some caps around on a special occasion? Plus they had needed the night off, as hard as they hit - well everything - proved that much. _We'll be paying for that too, but fuck it. Hearing the way she talked to Daisy tonight was worth it._

She'd talked to him about all that pre-war literature stuff before, but despite being interested, he couldn't really contribute to the conversation. Just hearing her talk so passionately about something was good enough for him, but he knew she enjoyed it more when she wasn't just lecturing. Daisy had the knowledge to make it a conversation, hell, even Mac could go on about those comics for hours with her. He'd just let their talk wash over him, as he tried to tuck away bits and pieces to ask her about later.

Fahrenheit stuck her head in his room trying to wave him over but he flipped her the bird, and she left. _Whatever fuckery that is can wait and if not, Ren can handle it herself._ It was true his second in command had done an excellent job running Goodneighbor in his extended absences. She did such a good job he was almost tempted to just turn the whole gig over to her and hang his proverbial hat, almost.

Being out in the Commonwealth with Nora doing various jobs for her Minutemen he was noticing a change for the better. People were starting to warm to his kind, and he was seeing more ghouls living away from Goodneighbor and The Slog. Now he wasn't going to take all the credit for that, but some indeed was his due. Even so, like all changes, it was slow in the making. For every town they'd pass through that welcomed them with drinks and open arms there were just as many where he'd have to put up with all manner of insult. Luckily, he'd always been good at letting that shit roll off his back. _But then there's those who say 'so glad you're here' with their mouths and 'filthy ghoul' with their eyes, those are the ones to watch out for._ In his experience, a person's eyes always gave 'em away.

It was never long though before Fahrenheit sent word that something back in Goodneighbor needed his unique flair to deal with. So he'd pop back for a bit and luxuriate in his little burg of misfits. He'd give whatever speeches needed giving or crack whatever head required his personal touch. Folks forgot who you were when you were gone for too long. Once rumors start that you're going soft, you get nothing but trouble, and he couldn't have that. It would be exhilarating for a few days, but then it would start wearing on him. That same disagreeable feeling he'd had the day he waltzed outta there would pop up - that he was turning into the kinda person he usually liked to gut. He'd found himself increasingly in favor of letting Ren handle his little rag-tag town whenever the Minutemen would need them in some far-flung armpit of the Commonwealth.

Thing of it was, as much as Goodneighbor would always hold a tender spot for him, "home" had become wherever Nora went. Shaun too, he'd grown fond of the boy - more than fond if he was being honest. That kid of hers was inventive, always tinkering away on some project. He could appreciate that, especially since those projects usually fired projectiles. And he was turning into a crack shot to boot. Not so great with a knife though, the kid preferred to keep his distance from his target. _Just like his Momma. But I keep telling him he's not always gonna have ammo for the weapon he's got. At some point, he's gonna have to improvise. Eh, he'll learn._ He'd have to if he were going to survive outside the relative safety of Sanctuary, and odds were leaving would be a necessity one day.

_As slow as it's going for us ghouls, it's going even slower for the synths,_ he lamented. Generations of Commonwealth folk had grown hearing that synths were the boogeymen. Some synths, under control of the Institute, had in fact kidnapped and replaced members of their families, so there was some truth to it. Try telling them now that these same synths were, in fact, just like them, people looking to live their lives. _Yeah, that's not going over well._

They were working with the Railroad doing their best relocating as many as possible, but it was all in secret. It was a rare person who wouldn't still shoot to kill if they suspected someone was a synth. So they had kept the fact that the kid was one quiet, not even her most trusted Minutemen who were there when she found him knew the truth. _It was a smart play, but we can't keep it hidden forever._ Eventually, people would notice the kid wasn't growing, and if they couldn't change the collective opinion by then, it would be all villagers and pitchforks. 

_That's why I gotta keep my foot in the door here in Goodneighbor, just in case we ever haveta get the kid somewhere friendly fast._ He was mildly surprised at the thought. Usually, he acted on impulse more than anything, but this was kinda like that chess crap Ren was always talking about, _'You have to plan at least three steps ahead of your opponent John,' maybe she's been onto something all along._ He lay there considering possibilities, _Or maybe this is that 'parental anxiety' Nora's been talking about._ Who would have ever thought he had that in him?

Not him that's for sure. After building up Goodneighbor into something he was proud of, he'd planned on a slow chem assisted demise. _Then along came Lenore,_ running with her had expanded his ambitions. Why couldn't the whole Commonwealth be like Goodneighbor? The two of them were making headway to that end. From the start, he'd accepted the fact that if they didn't go out in a hail of bullets first, he'd end up outliving her, but not for long though. No, he figured the day she died would be the day he'd finally finish what that experimental chem had started all those years ago. Now though, now he just couldn't imagine doing something like that to the kid. So, here he was lying in bed with the fucking sun coming up in his eyes, making long-term escape plans when he should have been out cold hours ago. _Ain't life funny._


	3. Chapter 3

As they entered the impossibly preserved and well-guarded mansion that was Cabot House, Nora felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. The only other place she'd seen that was this clean and intact before was the Institute. Could this be some outpost they hadn't known about? Were they walking into a trap? She wasn't paying attention to whatever it was Deegan was saying, and then a small explosion from upstairs nearly caused her to jump out of her skin.

A voice called, "Hello, Hello! Welcome to Cabot House. I'm Jack Cabot." The man descending the stairs in front of them looked harmless enough, despite whatever he'd blown up just before greeting them - short, dark-haired, and bespectacled. He wore a white lab coat and tie, and he even had a thin, neat little mustache. It struck her that he was entirely pre-war proper, but she knew that didn't mean anything. There was no shortage of oddities in the Commonwealth. This guy turning feral on them wouldn't even rank on that list. But since he was being oh so polite, she'd reciprocate. As they exchanged pleasantries, she quickly realized there was no way this guy was Institute, but he wasn't a product of the Commonwealth either. It only got stranger the more they talked.

"The question is this: do you believe there is other intelligent life in the universe?" Jack looked at her intently his eyes almost sparkling. He was sincere, he genuinely wanted to know her answer. It amused her so much that she found herself agreeing with him as he talked about the origins of human civilization.

For a few seconds, she felt transported back to her old life, like she was at some dinner party discussing the mysteries of the cosmos. She'd never had a strong opinion on whether aliens existed or not, sure it was possible she supposed. Almost comforting to think they weren't alone in the universe actually- _wait, did he say his_ father _excavated a city in Arabia? Is that even possible nowadays?_ Nora tried to wrap her head around how that would work. She'd seen the mutated dolphins that washed up on the shores, not to mention the twenty-foot tall mirelurk she'd taken out with the help of half a dozen Minutemen at The Castle. She didn't even want to know what else the ocean was hiding, and she couldn't imagine anyone making long sea voyages these days. Not unless they were desperate, or crazy.

"Jack, can I tell her what I need her to do?" Deegan interrupted. Jack had still been talking, describing in detail an artifact his father had supposedly found but Nora had only been half listening. Once her attention was fully back in the moment though, she was reasonably sure she saw something in the way Jack looked at him just then. There was a small smile in the corner of his mouth as he said something about getting carried away.

Jack seemed to notice her staring and abruptly stood up, "You're sending her to look for the missing shipment? Well, then. I'd better leave you to it."

Just like that he was gone, disappeared back upstairs to work on whatever he was doing when they came in. She talked with Deegan and got the rundown about this shipment, but where it was caught her off guard. After leaving Cabot house she and Hancock walked in stunned silence for a while. They headed out of the city and north along the roads, or what was left of them. After some time she figured she should say something, "This isn't going to end well. I'm just saying no happy story ever started with 'We just took a stroll over to the Insane Asylum.' That sentence simply doesn't end with having coffee and sweet rolls."

"Well on the bright side it can't be worse than the Pickman gallery, right?" When he'd given her that job she didn't think he'd planned on joining her but, life had a funny way of making things happen.

"Mmm, I don't know. Some of his work wasn't all that bad. Maybe I'll go back and ask him if I can have something for the house."

As they discussed which of Pickman's works of "art" would go over the worst back home, they wound their way further north. In places, the road almost disappeared, and she had to check her pip-boy to make sure they were still on track. After a while though, she started to go over every detail she could remember of Cabot House, hoping to find something that would explain it's occupant. "Something's not quite right at Cabot's, but one thing is for sure - I am seriously jealous of his pool table."

Hancock barked a short laugh, "You kiddin' me? There are several somethings not right there. That was a nice table though. Maybe we should ask him to let us have a crack at it when we get back. It'd be nice to play with a full set of balls for a change."

"Ooh, there's a joke in there somewhere," she poked his side as she teased him, "about ghouls losing their bits and pieces."

"You keep that up, and I'll show you who's missing bits and pieces tonight." He grabbed her hips and pulled her roughly against him, emphasizing his point.

She laughed, threw her arms around his shoulders, and kissed him. For a moment the outside world didn't exist, it was only his arms and mouth. Eventually, she stepped back, "I'm holding you to that." She grinned and winked at him before continuing.

From behind her, she heard, "Heh, my wife the masochist. Not that I'd have it any other way mind you but, that's still weird to say."

She stopped again and turned around, "Oh? Having second thoughts about spending eternity with me already?" There was a time when his statement would have concerned her. He had his reputation as, well, a man of the people after all. Now, however, she just enjoyed teasing him about it.

"Hell no, Sunshine," he caught up to her and put an arm around her shoulders, getting them walking again. "Just because I never planned on a frozen sleeping beauty stealing my heart doesn't mean I'm not glad it happened. Ain't exactly the kind of thing one can predict is all."

She nodded at his hand, "Well if you ever catch a case of regret it's as easy as taking off that ring to remedy. No need for any drastic measures," she shook her head, "not like back in the old days."

"Don't worry, hun. I ain't planning on stuffing your corpse in a wall, or a floor, or whatever the hell else folks in those old-world stories of yours like to do. Although I did enjoy hearing you all talk about 'em the other night."

She felt her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline before she could stop them, "Seriously? Because you looked stoned out of your gourd that night."

"I was absorbing... and stoned. It's called multitasking love." He must have seen that her face failed to return to its normal configuration because he tipped his tricorner hat at her and added, "I am something of a history buff after all."

They were grinning at each other as they walked, not paying attention to the road ahead of them. Which was how they missed the Deathclaw in the collapsed stretch of what once was an elevated highway, at least until it roared and charged them.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" She wasn't sure if it was only her yelling, or if it was both of them.

Instinctively they ran in opposite directions Nora going left for the ruins of the highway, Hancock right towards a bank of trees and boulders. The giant lizard could only follow one of them, and it went for Nora. As she tried to get some rubble between them, she felt the air whoosh past her, either from its breath or a swipe of its mighty talons she didn't know. Then she heard the boom of Hancock's shotgun and the pained screech of the Deathclaw. Once she'd gotten behind the guardrail, she looked out. Its tail was bleeding.

"Hey ya ugly fuck, over here!" Hancock yelled standing behind a huge rock waving his arm.

He was able to get another round off into its soft underbelly as it whipped around. Then he ducked out of sight, and it was her turn. While the angered monster was distracted, she took aim with her rifle and landed a few shots on its back. When it barely noticed she reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of grenades. She pulled the pins and lobbed them one after another hoping that if they didn't hit one would at least get its attention. Luckily they did, and the beast spun towards her again. She crouched down trying to make herself as small as possible, something it could mistake for just more debris on the highway. She heard the crunch of rocks and gravel under its weight; it was close.

The shotgun went off again, and the monstrosity howled in rage before its heavy footsteps moved up the road looking for Hancock. Deathclaws were smart. Once they found your hiding spot you couldn't trick them again, so they had to keep relocating. Nora took off herself, and when she'd gotten to roughly to the area she'd heard the last gunshot she poked her head out. There it was heading for Hancock as he ducked in between some trees. She almost felt bad he'd gotten the side with crappy cover, but the grenades were doing a decent job of getting the scaly beast's attention before it got too close to him. She emptied her rifle's clip into its hide and then lobbed out a few more trying to lure it her way. Afterward, she shrunk behind a tower of fallen asphalt as it hunted for her.

Inbetween shotgun blasts she heard Hancock yell, "Woman would you watch it with those things?! I'm over here y'know!"

"It's not an exact science, dammit!" She shouted back as she reloaded.

Before she had a chance to fire though she heard the creature running further up the road again. It must have gotten too close that last time. She took off, darting through the broken chunks of highway trying to see where they were. When she caught up to them Hancock was running for all he was worth towards a clutch of boulders, but the Deathclaw was faster, closing the distance between them and starting to swipe at him with its razor-sharp claws. Cursing herself for not moving quickly enough she reached for another grenade only to find the pouch empty.

_Don't panic,_ she told herself as she broke cover still digging in her bag. She had a few Molotov cocktails, but those took time to light and Hancock didn't have time. She needed to get the damn things attention now. One of the fiend's swats caught him, just barely but that wasn't saying much - there was a reason they were called death-claws. Hancock went down, and the monster started to close in for the kill.

"C'mere you satan-lookin' gecko!" she yelled firing without aiming, just hoping the noise would distract it. It worked. The thing turned and looked right at her with its slatted yellow eyes, swiping the ground in front of it causing dirt to fly through the air. Her vision was momentarily clouded. "Oh, you didn't like that? Well come over here and do something about it, I wouldn't even make boots out of you!"

It stood up throwing its head back and roaring. This close she could feel the ground vibrating from the sound. She took those few seconds to light one of the cocktails. Once she knew it wouldn't go out on her, she started running towards the beast. It had crashed down on all fours and started barreling at her. When she was close enough to be sure of her aim, but not within reach of its long arms she threw. The bottle smashed against its face, and engulfed its head in fire. As it clawed at the flames, she lit another and chucked it, hitting its underside. Thoroughly occupied with extinguishing itself the creature didn't notice while she reloaded her rifle and took aim. The shots caught it just under the chin, blowing a hole straight through its head. The massive lizard crashed down and lay there twitching for a bit before finally dying.

"Hancock?" She called, but there was no answer, so she tried again, "John!" But still nothing. They'd both been injured in their misadventures before. More bullets had been dug out of both of them and laser burns bandaged than she'd care to remember, but he'd always answered her when they separated. He'd never been so badly injured that he couldn't come back with some sardonic response. _This is not good_ , she thought, and she started running.

When she'd woken up after watching Nate get shot she'd run a gambit of emotions. Shock and fear of everything that was happening, and a burning rage at Kellogg that drove her out of the Vault. This felt nothing like that. This was, numb, like she was underwater. Her legs wouldn't move fast enough, and her lungs couldn't get enough air, but her heart was beating far to fast. The same thought kept repeating in her mind, _Not again!_

He was lying on his stomach, the back of his coat and shirt torn from shoulder to waist. She put a hand on his arm and tried again, "John!"

He took a shuddering breath and answered, "Not... rid of me yet, Sunshine."

Relief flooded her whole body and when she tried to sit it turned into a backward flop. She lay on her back looking at him for a moment.  
"Jeeze Hancock, you had me thinking I was gonna have to start a punch card for dead husbands there."

"Every fifth one you get a free Nuka Quantum, heh." He winced as he laughed which reminded her that he was, in fact, injured. So she sat up.

The coat and shirt were a lost cause. She ripped them the rest of the way open to see the extent of the damage. _Can't be that bad if he's cracking jokes,_ but she wasn't entirely correct. He had an angry red gash across his back. She couldn't see bone, and it hadn't bled nearly as much as a human would have, so that was lucky. Digging through her bag, she found a stimpack and can of water. She poured the water over the gouge hoping it cleaned the wound out some before injecting the stimpack as close as she dared to the injury. It would take some time for him to heal though.

"So how about an unscheduled picnic while that thing works it's magic, got a taste for Deathclaw steak?"

"I swear sometimes it's like you can read my mind."


	5. Chapter 5

He felt pretty useless just sitting on his ass while Nora got a fire going and went to chop up some dinner. Well, she tried anyway, but a butcher she sure as hell wasn't. However since just sitting up was a feat in itself for him at that moment he did the next best thing, "You cutting steaks or killing it all over again there, love?"

That earned him a scowl and a finger. "Tell you what, you can fillet the next thing that tries to kill us okay?" She finished up and brought the pile of chunks over to the fire. The bits of meat were so pitifully small and misshapen she had to pop them on sticks and hold them over the fire to cook.

He loved giving her a hard time purely for the reaction, so he just smiled sweetly in return. "It's a deal Sunshine. Now pass that over, least I can do is cook my own damn food." As he watched the meat turn from bloody red to brownish grey, he could feel the itching and tugging as the muscles and skin of his back healed, aided by the stimpack. It wouldn't be too long before they could head out again, that is once he was dressed.

He eyed the tatters of his shirt and jacket. _At least it wasn't the good one._ His red frock coat always got left in Goodneighbor when they went on these little trips for precisely this reason. The leather bomber jacket he wore instead had bullet holes, slashes, and was worn thin in spots. Staring at it crumpled on the ground like discarded refuse, he remembered how shocked Nora had been when he'd shown up at the gate outta town wearing it that first day. When she'd asked him about it, he'd had to look down at himself because after donning that colonial coat day in and day out for so long he'd honestly forgotten he'd put anything else on.

  
"These are my travelin' clothes. Can't have a one-of-a-kind historical coat getting riddled with bullet holes out here in the Commonwealth," he'd smirked at her and added "I gotta keep it nice. It's part of my mystique."

"But you kept the hat because?"

"People gotta know it's Hancock, Mayor of Goodneighbor they're dealing with and not just some random ghoul. Besides, someone shoots me in the head, well, bullet holes in this old hat will be the last thing on my mind."

"Literally."

He saw her watching him outta the corner of her eye, "I see what you did there."

"I think, Hancock, that we're going to get along just fine." They had at that, and that coat had come to feel every bit a part of him as his red one was.

  
He was pulled out of his reminiscing by Nora asking, "You wanna have a funeral for your traveling coat there? You look so mournful."

"Heh, maybe I do at that." Waving a hand solemnly at it, he said, "It was a good coat and it went out fighting. There, done. You got a spare shirt by the way?"

She tilted her head and asked, "How is it you never manage to bring any clothes?"

"Guns, knives, ammo, chems." He ticked off each item with a finger. "Priorities sister."

Sighing she balled up a brown flannel shirt and threw it at him. He caught it one-handed and gave it a once over before putting it on. "Doesn't exactly scream King of the Zombies, but I guess it'll have to do."

"Well then, if you're up for it we should continue on our merry way to Pars-" she cut off as the first few raindrops hit them, "It's raining. It's raining, and we're going to an Insane Asylum, how appropriate."

Luckily they didn't have very far to go, but their mood was considerably dampened by the time they arrived. The gruff guardswoman with a pinched face and full combat armor who came strolling up to them, weapon drawn, didn't help matters. "Whoah there," Nora threw both hands up showing that she was unarmed and he followed suit, "Edward Deegan sent us. We're here about the missing package, but we-"

"Oh, Deegan sent you?" She lowered her gun at that, so they lowered their arms. "They're holed up in the Parson's Creamery just north of here. Gotta tell you I'll feel a lot better when you clear them out."

"Great, we'll happily head out there in the morning, but we need a place to sleep tonight. Any beds free in there?" Nora angled a thumb at the dark brick building next to them.

"No one's allowed inside, sorry." Her tone was mechanical and sharp like this was something she had to say all day every day. Just doing her job nothing personal, but it was one thing too many.

"For fuck's sake, Cabot hired us!"

He nudged her discreetly, and she took a slow breath looking over at him. He figured maybe it was time to step in. "Look, we ran into a Deathclaw on the way here, and it took a fairly good-sized chunk outta me. We just need to rest up for one night."

The taller woman frowned and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't make the rules, just get paid to enforce them." Then she gave them a good looking over and added, "We got some sleeping bags in the guard stations out here, you two can have one for the night."

"Appreciate it," he tipped his hat at the nice lady and put an arm around Nora, steering her towards the small enclosure before she could say anything else.

The tiny room had probably been for one person to sit in and make sure no one got in or out that wasn't meant to back when the place was operational. And it seemed they still used it as such to an extent; it was crammed with a desk, chair, and ham radio. It wasn't however designed to double as sleeping quarters, but then if even the guards weren't allowed inside where else were they gonna hit the sack? The sleeping bag was on the floor behind everything.

Nora sat down on the desk and looked around their cramped quarters forlornly. "Call me spoiled all you want, but I will never get used to sleeping on concrete."

"Won't be overly cozy that's for sure, but I've slept in worse." He walked in between her legs and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "We'll make due."

"So you say but, how long has it been since you spent a night on the ground like this? All those years as Mayor in your plush room," she looked up at him through her lashes with a teasing grin, "I'm betting you've gone a tad soft."

He shook his head tsk-ing at her, "Can't have that rumor spreading around, not at all. Now how should I deal with my little troublemaker here?"

  
She ended up being right. It had been too long since he'd done this regularly. He turned from one side to another, but the cold hard floor under the thin material stayed equally disagreeable. Finally, after she fell asleep, he gave up and perched on the desk to have a cigarette. Given enough time he'd simply be too exhausted to stay awake, all he had to do was wait it out. Even back home there were nights when he had to be in a black-out state in order to sleep. Nora made a noise that caused him to turn and peer at her through the gloom. She'd generally toss around all night, but now she was mumbling something he couldn't make out. _I can't sleep, and she sleeps like shit more often than not. What a pair we make._ All manner or personal demons liked to pop up while you're sleeping, and they both had their fair share. Some nights it was easier to drown them out.

The night wore on, and he finished most of the cigarette pack and had dipped into his Mentat stash. The dull ache in his back had subsided at least, by morning he should be good as new. Deciding to give sleep one more try he stood up and saw one of the hired guards pass by, and he nodded a hello. _Making friends and changing minds one smoothskin at a time._


	6. Chapter 6

When she woke up, the sun was wrong. _It's late afternoon, did we really sleep that long?_ Not "we" though she quickly saw. Hancock was awake somewhere but not in the guard room. She heard him just outside talking, presumably, to some of the guards. As she walked out the door, she made sense of what he was saying and rolled her eyes.

"So the guy comes out and says 'That Yao Guai is taken care of, now where's the lady with the sore tooth?'"

The two guards burst into laughter, "So he... oh man-" that one couldn't finish the thought because he doubled over holding his stomach.

She walked up shaking her head, "It took Yefim and I two hours to talk Vadim out of actually setting something like that up when you told him this one, you know that right?" She held her hands out gesturing at the two guards. "Now look, you broke these poor guys. They can't even stand. What am I going to do with you?"

Hancock threw his arms wide and beamed at her, "There she is! Welcome back to the waking world love. And if Bobrov actually manages to catch a Yao Guai let alone wrangle it all the way through the city to the Dugout, I'll go drink a cooler full of his moonshine myself."

"You're awful, incorrigible even, but I suppose that's why I love you. That and you let me sleep in. C'mon, let's go before you can do any more damage to these two."

The Creamery was not far at all, but getting into it proved much more difficult than they had anticipated. It sat on the top of a rocky hill just off the main road, and there didn't appear to be a way to approach it without being seen. They lost an hour trying to circle around behind it, hoping there'd be a better way in, but all they found was a stone enclosed valley with the old barn high above it.

"So you wanna just barge in guns blazing, or?"

"Or. I don't want to rush in not knowing what we're up against. That looks like a back door there, under that scaffolding. If we can get up there, maybe we can get the drop on them."

"If you think you can creep your way up this rock face Sunshine, you go right ahead and try. Why don't I go round the front and we hit 'em from both sides?"

It seemed like as good a plan as any. She doubled back a ways to where the hillside wasn't as steep. When she got to the top, she was pleased to discover one lone tree with a good sized bush next to it. She crouched behind them and watched for a minute to see if anyone had heard her, but all seemed quiet. There was no way to know where Hancock was, so she started inching her way towards the back door hoping he'd make it around by the time she got there. Peering through the windows, she saw two raiders standing near the front door smoking and a set of stairs in the middle of the barn leading to an upper balcony. _No telling how many more are upstairs._ She was about to try and pick off the two she could see when a twig snapped behind her.

"Don't do nothin' stupid now," said a low gravely voice.

She slowly laid her rifle down and raised her hands. One arm was wrenched at a painful angle behind her back, and she was hauled to her feet. A second raider came into view as he bent down to grab her gun and bag. They began to march her into the barn. As they passed through the doorway into the light, she heard a long whistle from the one grabbing her. "Holy shit, it can't be. Spike! You're gonna wanna get down here!" He pushed her past the stairs as a large pair of black boots appeared at the top.

"Whaddya yelling about?" She heard from above. When she was spun around, she had a better view of Spike as he descended the stairs. It was immediately apparent how he'd earned his nickname - he'd added all sorts of spikes to his leather armor and wore welding goggles to cover his eyes.

Grabby yanked the collar of her jacket, pulling it clear off of her. "Look," he jabbed in between her shoulder blades, "111! This is her, the fuckin' Minuteman General." She wore the Vault Suits outside Sanctuary because so many people joined up all over and never saw her face. The suit made her easier to recognize. It had become her persona in a lot of ways, much like Hancock and his historical getup.

"Well then, make her more comfy until we decide what we're gonna do here." Spike sauntered over towards the massive front doors where the other raiders were poking through her bag.

Grabby tied her wrists together and then sat her on the stairs. As she plopped down, out of her peripheral vision, she saw movement in the rafters. She had to force herself to keep her eyes trained on Grabby's face rather than look up. He had a gnarly scar on the bridge of his flat nose, pale eyes, and sandy hair that was shaved on the sides. _At last, a face to put to the voice._ He checked her boots for any hidden weapons, but that was all. The average person assumed you couldn't hide anything in a Vault Suit because they were skin tight. But if you had say, basic skill with a needle and thread, you could stitch a small pocket onto the inner sleeve which could hold a thin knife. When Grabby stood up, she slipped the blade into her hand so she could start working on the ropes. It would be better if they were distracted though, "Hey Grabby, what's your name?"

Spike whipped around from rooting in her things and growled, "His name's none of yer business, why do you wanna know?"

She held Grabby's eyes, ignoring Spike as much as she could, "I was going to tell you to have some Jet on me, for being so clever." She gestured with her chin towards where her jacket lay crumpled on the floor. "Inner pocket of my jacket there."

Spike pushed Grabby aside and knelt down in front of her, "Lady, we've got all your shit. Whatever you had is ours now."

"Well then, I rescind the offer." _That backfired spectacularly._ She'd been hoping they'd take the bait and use all the chems she had. Stoned raiders were easier to deal with but - other than Grabby - this group didn't seem all that observant. She might still be able to cut the ropes with them watching.

Spike laughed, revealing a mouth full of blackened, rotting teeth. "Rescind, oh man. Yeah, you're that General all right, talkin' like that. But hey, where's the ghoul, what's his name?"

"Hancock." Grabby offered.

"Yeah, that's it, Hancock. Where's he if you're this General? The way I hear it those two are always together."

"Oh, he'll be along. Don't you worry about that." _Don't look up,_ she reminded herself for what felt like the hundredth time.

"What's the kill count between you two anyway?" Spike tapped a finger against his cheek, "I'm just curious who's more dangerous."

She could tell the answer he expected and decided to have a little fun, "Oh I am, easily."

That gave them all pause, but not for long. The ones who'd been silent until now started chuckling. Grabby snorted, and Spike shook his head at her, "Now why'dya say that?"

"Because we're pretty evenly matched except, sometimes I have to work in heels." The ropes around her wrists finally gave way and fell, she adjusted her grip on the knife and shifted her weight.

"Now see, my takeaway from that is I gotta start wearing heels more often," Hancock quipped from the rafters.

Every head turned upwards and the unexpected interjection, every head except Nora's. She lunged at Spike burying the knife in his neck. He reached up trying to push her hands away. She obliged him wrenching the blade free and stabbing him again. It took several more before he bled out. He had a 10mm on him, so she took it. When she looked up one of the quiet raiders was dead. The remaining two and Grabby were still focused on Hancock, who was making his way towards the stairs. Moving to the left, she got behind one of the barn's support pillars before aiming at the closest body. She hit one of the quiet raiders in the leg, he went down with a yelp and turned, "Bitch," he growled before shooting at her.  _Ah, so he can talk._ Her arm started burning, and she looked down to see that one of his shots had grazed her. She leaned out firing and caught him twice in the chest.

Above her, Hancock yelled wordlessly, and she couldn't help but look up. He shot at the remaining two raiders from the top of the stairs and then- then he slid down the banister and fired his second round once his feet had hit the floor. _Well, hot damn._ The second shot tore through the last of the quiet raiders. Then it was just them and Grabby.

"Whoah, whoah now," Grabby dropped his gun - actually her rifle, she noticed - and put his hands in the air. "We don't need to be hasty here. You guys could use ah, a clever guy like me, right? You don't gotta kill me."

The 10mm was empty, so she tossed it aside. "Alright Grabby, you wanna be useful? We're looking for something you guys stole, a package meant for Parsons. Where is it?"

He lowered his hands and started walking hesitantly towards them, "It's Cutter by the way, but Grabby's fine too, whatever you want General Ma'am, Mister Hancock-"

"Mayor." Hancock didn't even look up from reloading to correct him.

"Mayor, sorry. Mayor Hancock. That stuff we took is upstairs. I'll show ya," He was almost even with her when he pulled the knife. Nora saw the glint of the metal and tried to sidestep. Then her ears were ringing, and she saw Grabby fly backward as blood spattered her. Hancock moved into her field of vision, and he was saying something, but she was still deafened from his shotgun going off so close to her. It was all a bit too much after getting covered in Spike's blood earlier. She had always hated close combat like this, it was too messy, and she tended to panic. She bent over breathing slowly, trying not to vomit.

"Are you okay?!" Finally, she could hear again. Hancock was prodding her and looking all over for injuries.

Waving him off and straightening up she said, "I'm fine. Stunned, grazed but it's nothing." She nodded at Grabby's body, "What did I miss? You weren't even looking at him."

Hancock held two fingers in front of his face, pointing at his black eyes, "Head might've been down, but these weren't. One of the benefits of being me, no one can tell which direction I'm lookin'. Grabby looked down at that blade before he pulled it."

She'd never get the hang of reading people the way he could. It was all she could do to control her own face. She walked over to where her bag had been dumped out and found some dirty water she kept for emergencies. She used it to rinse off as much of the gore as she could, and then changed into her spare suit. Once she was somewhat clean, another thing occurred to her. "What happened to bust through the door guns blazing? How'd you end up there?" She pointed upwards.

Hancock shrugged, "Front door was never an ideal approach, so I improvised." He added chuckling, "You did say you wanted to get the drop on 'em."

"So you went literal." She shook her head and bounded up the stairs to look for this damn package that was causing so much headache.

He called up after her, "You love my dramatic entrances, and you know it!"

He was right, but she was still glad he couldn't see her ear to ear grin right then. He'd only try to be more over the top the next time if she confirmed it. It didn't take long picking through Spike's things before something caught her eye, "Found it! I think." She felt him rest his chin on her shoulder so he could see what she was looking at. It was a syringe - a lot like a stimpack - but the stuff inside it was green. _What the hell?_

"Ooh, mystery chem! Wanna try it?"

"As well as that's worked out for you love, I'm gonna pass for now. Besides, it looks like this is all that's left. We should get it back to Cabot." She made her way down the stairs, and he followed. They started picking over the bodies for anything worth taking.

"So we get a one of a kind high, there's a chance it might turn you ghoul, and we don't have to go back to Creepy's mansion," he said as he pulled a leather jacket off one of the bodies. "All I'm hearing are positives here."

As she headed for the door, she responded, "I won't argue with you there, those are all great possibilities. However, I'd give it maybe fifty-fifty odds that I get ghoulified or dead. Why don't we just bring it back and ask?"

From behind her, she heard him grumble. "Why do you gotta bum me out with logic?" 


	7. Chapter 7

_Jack didn't strike me as a party guy, course I have been known to be wrong on occasion._  He had been trying to figure out what was in that damn vial the whole trip back. When they arrived, however, all hell seemed to be breaking loose inside. An old lady - the Cabot matriarch from the sound of it - was shouting about Jack's sister being missing. Jack did not seem to give one single shit. Before he could inquire about the contents, Nora gave Deegan the vial of mystery chem. Then the guard was introducing them to the old gal, Wilhelmina, and giving them a run-down of the situation. Emogene, the missing sister, apparently had a habit of taking off with the menfolk every so often. They were tasked with her retrieval despite Jack's protests. Hancock saw his fellow ghoul's hazy eyes linger fondly on the other man as he responded that he was just doing his job. _Don't see why they're being so coy, but to each their own._

Deegan suggested they check The Third Rail as it was one of Emogene's regular haunts. Hancock wracked his brain, trying to remember if he knew anyone by that handle. It was the kinda name that would stick in the mind once encountered. He shook his head coming up with nothing. "Magnolia would know, she makes nice with everyone who blows through The Rail."

They booked it out of Cabot's as fast as they could and made for home and The Third Rail so they could check in with the singer. If things went well, they could be done with this debacle by sundown. _Now how much longer could we claim vacation? Probably squeeze a day, maybe two, since our original trip got interrupted. Really, what are they gonna do if we just say we ain't coming back for a bit?_

Mags told them about some preacher the girl had latched onto. Even had Ham bring them one of the guy's fliers talkin' about where folks could come hear him "speak the truth." The guy was going to be a character he could tell already. Before they left he popped into the State House to restock his stashes and have Ren send word to Sanctuary that they weren't coming back anytime soon.

They found the amphitheater no problem. Brother Thomas and his cult were, interesting, to say the least. _Gotta hand it to the guy convincing these folks they'll be happier if they turn over everything they own. Hell even their clothes, got em runnin' around naked for the first few weeks! Now if that's not crafty- wait, did I just talk myself into liking this guy?_ It was a scam no doubt there. Wasn't his style to interfere though, not unless people were being hurt or held against their will. _Yeah and there it is. Emogene is locked up, and I'd bet that 'relationship trouble' they're having is because she won't join his con-job nuthouse out here._

Nora gave the weasel a verbal lashing while he flipped his knife around and Brother Thomas quickly saw reason. He took them to a small office behind the building and unlocked the door presumably holding the missing gal. Nora headed in and he was right on her heels, but they both stopped short just inside. The woman sitting in front of him was not at all what he'd expected. Her hair was completely grey, and age lines were beginning to show on her face. She bore a strong resemblance to Wilhelmina the more he looked at her. Definitely the sister, but given her brother's age and the descriptor of frequently running off with the fellas he'd assumed- _Well, everyone has their tastes I guess. This whole family's fuckin' strange._

"Don't tell me, Jack sent you." Then she stood up and started making for the door. "You can tell Mother I'll be along home before too long. I just need a drink first."

They fell into step on either side of her, herding her in the direction they needed to go. "No dice sister, we gotta make sure you get back safe and sound. But you're in luck," he pulled a flask of whiskey from his coat, "we brought the bar with us."

She took a sip and passed the flask over to Nora without looking at her. "You're... Hancock, right? If I remember my gossip correctly, you give some pretty wild tours of Goodneighbor." She took his arm and hugged it to her, "Why don't we head back there instead?"

He extracted himself gently from her grip. "I ain't a touring ghoul no more sister," nodding at Nora he added, "Sunshine here's not the type you go wandering on."

Emogene whipped her head back and forth between them, "I had no idea. I'd thought- didn't you have a bodyguard? It doesn't matter I suppose."

Nora snorted trying to stifle a laugh, and he had a good chuckle himself. _Confusing Nora for Fahrenheit, that's hilarious._ Considering how out of the loop this family seemed he supposed it was understandable, but even so, there were stark differences between the two women in his life that were hard to ignore. Fahrenheit was all red hair and muscle, not much nonsense to her. Lenore, on the other hand, was considerably shorter, freckled, and full of sass. He was glad she saw the humor in it also. He'd half expected her to be shooting daggers outta her eyes.

"No hard feelings," she took a shot and passed the flask back, "but how are you Jack's sister? We were expecting someone a bit... younger."

_Damn, maybe just a few hard feelings there._ Out loud he said, "Hey, you know what else our traveling bar offers? Music. Why don't you fire up that pipboy love?"

As Nora tuned in to Diamond City Radio, Emogene crossed her arms and sighed, "Just to be clear - I'm Jack's younger sister. The baby of the family. Once I get home and get some of Jack's serum, I'll be back to my usual stunning self."

He stopped dead in his tracks staring at both Emogene and Nora, "Wait, Jack's serum reverses aging?" He grabbed the flask from her hands and drained it. _And she just handed it over to Deegan like it was nothing! That's the last time I let her talk me out of a good idea._

"It's more like it halts aging. I started taking it when I was thirty-two, so normally that's what I look like." As they started walking again she sidled up closer to him, "You'll see once I get my treatment. I was well-known as one of the belles of Boston society - back when there was any."

He sidestepped, putting more distance between them. _You are heading into shitstorm territory sister, don't do it._ They kept walking, the only sound was the music from Nora's wrist, and he made sure to keep his distance from Emogene. That gal was dropping bombs all over the place. His mind was reeling with the thought that what had been in that vial could halt Nora's aging. That would be worth his whole stash of chems and caps back home and then some. The trick would be getting Cabot to share it.


	8. Chapter 8

As they walked through the foyer, they were bombarded by the short, grey-haired force that was Wilhelmina. She rounded the corner almost before they'd shut the door and began yelling at Emogene for making her worry. Her mother's daughter, Emogene began screaming back at the older woman, and the two disappeared up the stairs. Deegan followed to make sure all was well.

Nora walked into the living room to find Jack pouring himself a drink. She had been mentally preparing herself for most of the walk back, asking this of him was not going to be easy. "Jack, could we talk to you for a moment? It's about your serum, Emogene told us it halts aging."

Jack sighed and grabbed two more glasses. "I suppose it's time you knew. Here, let's sit." He handed them both drinks, "The main benefit of the serum is to halt aging. My family and I are all over four hundred years old." They settled themselves, Hancock and Nora on one couch Jack on the other. "I know that must be hard to believe."

Beside her, she heard Hancock snort, and she grinned herself. "Not as hard as you'd think. I was in cryosleep, thanks to Vault-Tec, for two hundred years." Jack's nodded saying he'd suspected she was mid-twenty-first century, and then he launched into a tirade of questions about the cryogenic process. She had to hold up a hand to stop him so she could get a word in. "Unfortunately I was a lawyer, not a scientist, so I don't know the answers to any of those questions. You're welcome to come see the pods for yourself anytime you'd like." She leaned over and showed him on her pip-boy's map where Sanctuary was located. "But, you said the 'main benefit' of the serum - what else does it do?"

Deegan returned and stood at the opposite end of the couch from Jack. The two men looked at each other for a moment before Jack responded. "It also confers other... side effects. Especially in the undiluted form that you retrieved. It increases strength and resistance to all kinds of physical damage."

Hancock leaned forward and asked, "Where would you even get something like that? I've had eyes and ears all over the chem trade for decades, and I've never heard of anything like this."

"My father, Lorenzo Cabot, is... confined in Parsons. He became dangerously unstable after handling the artifact I mentioned before. He gained various seemingly paranormal powers," Jack took a drink before continuing, "As well as becoming increasingly irrational and violent. In the end, I had no choice but to confine him, for his own safety as well as ours. In the course of my attempts to cure him, I discovered that the artifact had introduced... anomalies into his blood. So, the source of his insanity is also the basis of the treatment that has prolonged all our lives." Jack looked into his glass for a moment then softly said, "The irony isn't lost on me."

She glanced over at Hancock who was shaking his head and muttering curses under his breath. She could relate, it was an unbelievable revelation. Which made her request that much more difficult but she had to try. Reaching out and tentatively putting a hand on Jack's, "Losing a family member, in any capacity, is difficult. I'm so sorry." She sat back and took a deep breath, "My son was frozen with me, and someone kidnapped him. We were able to rescue him, well it's a long story but, he's a synth now." It was her turn to peer into her glass trying to push away the darkness of what had happened. _Father was not my son, and we had to destroy the Institute._ It was a substantial risk telling them about him; there were a lot of people who would kill a synth without a second thought. When she dared to look up again, Deegan was telling Jack that he'd explain what a synth was later. _Could he be so isolated that he doesn't know?_ She decided not to question it and press on, "That's why I need to ask for a rather large favor. Would you consider allowing me to have a supply of your serum? My family is going to outlive me otherwise. Obviously, it would be kept a secret, no one would know but us."

Jack's brow furrowed, and he shook his head violently but before he could speak Deegan said, "Jack, hear her out. I listened to a lot of talk about these two before I recruited them, all of it good. She's been leading the Minutemen and rebuilding all over the Commonwealth. If anyone needed a longer lifespan, it'd be her."

She heard Hancock add, "Yeah, and that happy-feelie business we got going between the ghouls and the humans is hard enough to maintain while we're making the rounds regular. I don't like the odds once that stops."

But he didn't appear swayed by anything the two men had just said. Jack had been sequestered here in his mansion for so long that the goings on of the world outside didn't mean anything to him. She had to find a way to reach him personally. There was one other thing she could try, it was a long shot, and if she were wrong, it would kill any hope they might have. _But what have I got to lose right now anyway?_   Taking a breath, she ventured, "I know you both have had very long lives," she looked from Jack to Deegan then back, "and probably can't fathom losing each other. But try Jack, please, to imagine what it would feel like if you knew you were going to lose Edward." She reached out and felt Hancock's hand take hers. "That's what we're facing here eventually."

Jack's face turned bright red, and his eyes flared. He set his glass down hard on the coffee table and practically yelled, "I'm sure I don't know what you are insinuating-"

Deegan was around the couch in a flash putting a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright Jack. Wilhelmina is asleep by now," he sat down and fixed Nora with a glare, "and I'm sure we can trust them not to tell her, right?"

She crossed a finger over her heart and said, "Consider it attorney-client privilege." That got a laugh out of both of them. _Good, maybe that will win them over._

"I apologize for getting so angry. You have to understand that the period my family is from," he glanced down at the floor then at Deegan. "People were not as accepting. Mother could never understand." She assured him that their secret was safe with her. Jack nodded and then smiled, "In that case, I'll invite you to stay the night here. Edward and I will have to discuss the matter of your request. You've given me a lot to think about. I should have an answer for you in the morning." He stood up and spread his arms wide, "Consider my house yours. We have plenty of food down here in the kitchen and no shortage of hot running water in the shower upstairs. I _do_ know that's not too common these days."

Nora didn't have to be told twice. She practically kissed Jack thanking him for the use of his shower. They had rigged the water system at Sanctuary to get it running to the houses again, but heating was something Sturges was still working out. Jack and Edward showed them to the spare bedroom and took their leave. She gave Hancock a quick kiss and ran down the hall to the bathroom. At first, she didn't even touch the cold faucet, letting the scalding hot water pour over her for as long as she could stand. After that, she took her time getting cleaner than she had been since leaving the Vault. When she returned to their room, she shooed Hancock down the hall as well insisting he had to go wash up. Once she heard him say something like "holy crap" from the other side of the door she headed downstairs to get them something to eat.

Jack was not kidding about the kitchen being stocked. She quickly made them some Salisbury steaks, Instamash, and opened a box of apples. Looking around she found a large serving tray and loaded the food, a few cans of water, and a bottle of wine onto it. Just for good measure, she snagged a box of Fancy Lad snack cakes as well. Balancing the tray was tricky, but she made it about halfway up the stairs before stopping to readjust her grip. It was then she heard Emogene's voice come drifting down from the upstairs hallway.

"I told you my treatment would make me stunning again. Are you sure you're not the touring type anymore?"

"Sister, I told you I ain't interested, and I meant it. Now get outta my way."

Nora heard a door slam, most likely Emogene's, and she rolled her eyes as she began climbing the stairs again. _She's trouble, but he's handling it, lucky for her. The ones who don't know when to quit are irritating as hell. Maybe over time as word gets out, folks will ease up, and hopefully, time will be something I have in abundance after tomorrow._


	9. Chapter 9

When he woke up, his skin was still tingling from the hot shower. He made a mental note to start bugging Sturges to figure out the heating systems when they got back home. Even the bed here was like nothing he'd bunked on before. _Wonder if that's why I actually slept well last night._ He rolled onto his side and looked at Nora. She was still asleep, and the sun was peeking through the curtains enough to light up her hair. He sorely hoped Jack had some good news for them so he'd never have to wake up without this view. Raising a hand, he brushed some stray hair off her forehead which caused her to rouse all at once.

"We've gotta go find out what Jack says!" She almost danced around the room getting dressed and tossing all her stuff into her bag. He laid there watching her and laughing; it was a damn sight. "Stop it, get dressed. C'mon! Get your lazy ass up."

They ran downstairs, but the sight that greeted them stopped him in his tracks. Jack and Wilhelmina were standing over by the ham radio, and through the static from the orange box, he could hear Deegan saying something about rounding up whoever they could, but then the radio cut out. Jack called him almost frantically before turning around. "The guards at Parsons called to say they were under attack. Edward went to help them. It sounds like the situation there is nearly out of control." Wilhelmina started going on about how she knew it would come to this one day, but Jack ignored her and continued. "I wonder if these could be the same raiders that stole the last shipment. If some of them had used the undiluted serum, it could explain their success against Edward's men."

Once they were outside the house, Jack continued his nonstop babbling about how they couldn't risk the raiders getting to Lorenzo. He mentioned some kind of dampening field around his cell, it was over Hancock's head, but obviously, they needed to get there before these assholes figured out how to turn it off. The guy seemed genuinely concerned for his father; he had to give him that. As they ran, he heard Jack muttering about not losing the man after working for so long to cure him and that he was sure Lorenzo would be cured if they could just separate him from the artifact. _Problems for a later date, pal. Let's just keep the old man in his cage for today._

When they finally arrived back at Parsons everyone outside was dead, guards and raiders. Entering the building, he found himself in a large round foyer with three sets of double doors. _They always said I'd end up in the looney bin_. Jack headed to the right, but the doors were locked, so he ran to the far side of the room and tried those. Behind the second set of doors, he could hear voices. As they wound their way through the twists and turns of the old Asylum raiders seemed to come out of the goddamn walls. Bullets were flying everywhere and just when he'd think they'd cleared out a hallway another one would pop around a corner gun blazing. Jack was yelling something about trespassing but, _Somehow I don't think that concerns them._ After way too many twists and turns to follow he lead them to his office. He threw open the doors and ran inside. Hancock heard him yell, "Edward!"

Walking into the room he saw his fellow ghoul sitting against the far wall, holding his stomach. "I'm not dead yet, but I don't think I can get up, Jack."

Jack knelt beside him holding his hand. He thought about all the times he'd treated Nora's injuries and didn't envy what Jack must be going through right now. At least, that was before the man opened his mouth again, "You kept them from using the elevator?" Deegan confirmed that he sent the elevator to the basement then shut it down. It was obvious he was hurting pretty badly, but Jack pressed him, "Are you sure you can't get up? I could really use your help."

The ghoul fixed his lover with a stare that looked equal parts incredulous and affectionate before he responded, "Yeah, Jack, I'm pretty damn sure." Hancock almost laughed out loud. Once they made it out of this, he was going to have to buy Deegan a drink.

Jack started clacking away at an old terminal saying they'd have to go through the abandoned part of the building and some other nonsense about an Abramelin Field. One thing was for sure, he was terrified that the raiders seemed to be heading straight for the basement where his old man was held. "It's hard to overstate exactly how dangerous the artifact has made him," he explained. "In addition to being homicidally psychotic, he commands a kind of local telekinesis which appears to be projected by the artifact itself."

He watched Nora motion towards the door saying, "Well, let's get on with it then." Couldn't argue with that.

As they were leaving, he heard Deegan call, "Be careful, Jack."

Leaving the office, they hooked back into the foyer and through the center set of doors into what appeared to be a courtyard. An immense, but empty, fountain loomed in the center, and scaffolding against the far wall led upwards. _Even the gardens are depressing._ The thought came right before the realization that the courtyard was - of course - filled with raiders. They scurried forward so they could use the fountain as cover. Nora took left, he took right, and Jack seemed to be firing at random. His speculation that they might be hopped up on the undiluted serum appeared to be correct. _These fuckers are a lot tougher than they ought to be._

In the middle of it all, he heard Nora yell, "I could use some help over here!"

He snarked back, "Sure. Tell these nice folks to stop shooting at me, and I'll get right on that, hun."

Once they were the only ones moving in the room, Jack lead them up the scaffolding and through a hole in the wall. He explained that he hadn't used this part of the building in decades so he had no clue what they might run into. What they ran into were more raiders. "For God's sake, how many more of these bastards are there?" He heard Jack blurt out as they ducked back to avoid getting shot. 

They fought their way down a collapsed strip of floor into another hallway. This was apparently where the crazies had been kept. Cells lined either side. Hancock peered into one or two as they passed through and what he saw reminded him of a bad Daytripper high he'd once had. Interestingly enough they didn't encounter a single living being in that hall. _Even raiders don't wanna stick around in here._

Finally, they reached the old utility elevator and made their way even further down. As they entered the lab, they could hear voices from inside. Jack ran to a large viewing window and exclaimed, "Those idiots are trying to shut down the Abrameline Field! That's the only thing keeping Lorenzo from breaking out of there! We need to get in there and stop them."

Then out of nowhere, a gruff voice said, "Hello, Jack. It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of a personal visit." Hancock looked through the window and saw an ancient man in a fancy suit wearing some kind of elaborate crown. He was inside a cell within the room on the other side of the window. He heard Jack yelling about putting a stop to this and then the old man was gloating. "My powers have grown, Jack. The artifact still has so much to teach me. Once I am free, I will be happy to teach you too."

"Let me see... Lucifer's balls. They locked down all the security doors." Hancock looked at Jack out of the corner of his eye. Of all the people to increase his library of curses, this guy would have been his last guess. He'd have to remember that phrase, it was good. Jack continued, "I'll have to open them one by one from here while you work your way down the hallway. Quickly now!" They made their way to the end of the curved hallway, and as the door slid open Jack yelled, "They've shut down the Abramelin Field!"

They began firing, and two of the raiders just soaked up the bullets and kept coming. A third didn't even have a gun, he was just running at them with a knife. He had a second to wonder, _w_ _hat the hell did that stuff do to them,_ before the knife-wielding raider was on top of Nora. Hearing her scream in pain, he briefly glimpsed the handle of the knife sticking out of her shoulder before blowing the guys head off. _Not immune to that 'physical damage' are ya asshole?_ The other two were still shooting at them, and Nora couldn't lift her rifle with only one arm. They ducked around the corner, and he reached into his bag pulling out the first gun his hand touched. It was the pistol he'd taken off Kellogg. She hated that gun but didn't have time to argue with him because the two raiders were coming through the door. He saw one's kneecap explode in red as he unloaded into the other one's belly. Nora walked in front of him as she finished off the crippled one. When the gun was empty, she threw it against the wall. Somewhere in there, she must have pulled the knife out of her shoulder. He stuck a stimpak in her arm before they went in.

When they entered the room he heard Jack call, "I built a failsafe into the containment grid. Switch the four Abramelin generators to 'manual override,' and I can flood his cell with a lethal dose of Zeta radiation."

"Lethal dose? As in kill him?" He could not process what Jack had just said. If they killed Lorenzo, the serum would be gone, that could not happen.

"It's the only way I'm afraid. I can't get the Abramelin generators back online before he regains his powers, and he can't be let loose!" Jack's muffled voice broke through his thoughts.

Nora moved in front of him and without any hesitation, grabbed the lever of the first generator. He couldn't believe his eyes, "What are you doing? You can't just-" But she threw the switch before he could finish.

"Hancock we don't have a choice!" She yelled over her shoulder as she moved towards the next. He could hear Jack hollering at them to hurry, but he didn't care. His only thought was that they needed more time, to make this decision and more time together. This couldn't be it.

She threw the second switch and started to cross the room towards the third. He followed her imploring, "Can we just take a second to talk about this? This is our chance here!"

"There's no time!" She flipped the switch and made for the last one.

He had to stop her, "Lenore Rosalie Brennan don't you fucking touch that switch! What about Shaun? What about me dammit! You don't get to make this decision on your own."

She spun to face him, and he saw she had tears streaming down her face. "You think I want to do this?" She gestured at the cage behind him, "Look at him - if I can see it you sure as hell can. We can't let that free just so that I can live longer. I'm not that selfish!" He could hear the anguish in her voice and that as much as her words hit him like a slap.

Jack was still yelling at them to hurry, and Lorenzo was droning on in that creepy monotone, "Don't listen to my son. He's the crazy one. You know this. Look at what he's done to me."

"Both of you, shut the fuck up a minute!" He walked up to the window and saw Lorenzo's eyes widen. _Guy's probably never seen a ghoul before._ Those cold dark eyes began to study him, looking him over from head to toe. It was more than just the general curiosity he'd seen from folks before. This was- it was like he was being dissected. As Hancock watched the man, he got the distinct impression that if he could, Lorenzo would cut him open just to see what was inside. It was then Hancock realized that he hadn't been thinking of him as a person, no Lorenzo had seemed more like a Brahmin. Merely the source of his means to keep Nora alive indefinitely. But the man in that tank was dangerous; there was no questioning that. As resilient as those raiders had been on the undiluted serum, this guy had that shit coursing through his veins. Then add telekinesis to the mix? There was no way he could let the old man run unchecked out in the Commonwealth.

"Do the right thing. Open the door. Let me out."

Hancock knew with an absolute surety that he couldn't do it, and at that moment he felt his heart breaking. From the second Emogene told them what the serum did he'd pinned his hopes on it, and now he had to destroy the man responsible for its creation. He finally looked at Nora again, her hand on the last switch, head down, shoulders heaving as she sobbed. He knew, looking at her like that, she was feeling the same thing. He crossed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her waist. She buried her face in his chest still crying. "I'm sorry John... but we can't-"

"It's okay Sunshine. We gotta do this, I know." He put his hand over hers, and together they pulled the last lever.

Lorenzo cursed them as he died, and Jack was apologizing to the old man, but he barely noticed. He stayed standing there, holding Nora up as much as she was holding him up, tears streaming down his face.


	10. Chapter 10

They stayed another night at Cabot's. However, the luxuries of the mansion were no comfort this time. Hancock had gone and gotten them some food, but most of it was sitting untouched on the sideboard. She couldn't bring herself to take more than a few bites. There had been no other choice; Jack insisted on that as they'd headed back. He had told them vaguely about Lorenzo's crimes before landing in the Asylum and asserted that if he had gotten free he would have killed his entire family, and anyone else he wished. Despite that, something was nagging at her, "What Lorenzo said at the end - that Jack would have 'fed' on him forever if he could have - what if that was true? What if Jack had stopped trying to cure him and had just been using him for the serum?"

Hancock had been pacing the room, flipping a canister of Jet around in his fingers. At her question he stopped, pocketing the chem without using it, and turned to face her. "If he was, I don't think he did it consciously. You saw him right after. He was in worse shape than we were."

She decided to trust his judgement on that despite her cynical thoughts that what Jack might have been mourning was his own immortality rather than his father. _Either way, I guess it doesn't matter now._

They both jumped as the door of their room opened, and Emogene slipped through, closing it behind her. _If she's hoping to catch John alone again, I'm going to shoot her_ , Nora thought matter of factly. But the other woman didn't look surprised to find both of them in the room.

"I wanted to apologize to you. The way I acted before- well it's no excuse but, when you live long enough anyone who is even remotely interesting becomes somewhat irresistible." She looked back and forth between them but got no answer, so she continued. "I also wanted to tell you that you did the right thing. Whoever that was, it wasn't my father anymore." She looked down at the floor. "Sure he'd put on a show when I would visit but, my father disappeared the day he came home with that ugly crown on his head."

That was something Nora could understand. How many times had she told herself that Father was not her son? That the man he'd grown to be - the cold, calculating creature who could look at his own parent's death as "unfortunate collateral damage" - was not the same person as the boy she was raising. If anything that made it easier to understand how somewhere along the way Jack, consciously or not, could have stopped trying to help the man they had just killed.

Emogene pressed on, "I know Jack and Edward were planning on letting you have the serum. You don't know it but, what you said to them hit close to home. Oh, don't look so surprised. I see and hear everything around here, and those two don't have a subtle bone in their bodies. Mother doesn't see it only because she doesn't want to." She shook her head and continued, "In any case, I'm glad the serum is gone, our family has lived too long. Trust me you wouldn't have wanted to be on it. Maybe not right away but, after centuries you would have seen. And it's not like you can just stop taking it, I tried so many times. But when you feel yourself aging and you know you can stop it," she trailed off and just stood there staring at the floor.

Nora felt sorry for her at that moment. She still hadn't said a word, and when she tried to, her throat closed up. She barely choked out a thank you before tears started pouring down her face. Through watery eyes, she saw Emogene finally leave and then she broke down. Over the past several years since leaving the vault, she'd purposely kept herself as occupied as she could so that she wouldn't overthink. When she paused to seriously consider everything that had happened to her, and to the life she'd worked so hard to build, her grip on the happy mask she wore would slip. She'd mourn everyone she'd lost, Nate and the rest of her family, even Father like it was happening all over again. She'd built herself a new life, with Hancock and Shaun, and everyone back in Sanctuary, that she cherished dearly. It had been enough to scatter the darkness within her. Not her worries though, those nagging thoughts of "what if." That serum had been the answer to many of those, and she'd begun to hope that something even better might be possible. An existence in which she'd never have to worry over the fate of her boys because she'd be there, with them, indefinitely. Now that dream was dead before she'd even fully realized it and all the darkness washed over her. By the time she wore herself out her eyes were so swollen that it was difficult to see. She could feel Hancock's arms wrapped tightly around her. He was speaking, but she hadn't retained a single word. Only his soothing tone penetrated her wall of grief. She took a breath that was still shuddering and said, "I'm just too sober for this shit."

"Well, I'll drink to that hun." He walked over to the sideboard and poured them both some bourbon.

After a few minutes, she was feeling in control of herself again. She was more upset that she'd made such a fuss over this than she was about what had actually occurred. Or, that was what she told herself anyway. _Honestly, would dying one day be such a bad thing? Look at what immortality did to the Cabots._ Poor Emogene, running off with man after man just to feel something in the tedium of time. Jack's detachment from the world in order to hide his family's secret. How much of his fear over he and Edward being discovered might have been alleviated if they'd all been living outside of this house? No, eternal life seemed like it could become a curse and a prison if you let it. _But even so, it would have been preferable to find out for myself._


	11. Chapter 11

Three days. He'd held it together for three fucking days. When Nora lost it that first night, he'd held her and told her they did the right thing. Even though he wasn't entirely content with that. He suspected he'd been talking to himself as much as to her. But he needed her to know that he had her back no matter what, so he kept himself composed. The second day they'd pushed it to get home, the physical exertion saving them both from thinking too hard. When they finally got back to Sanctuary, he had been genuinely happy to see Shaun, so that much at least hadn't been an act. No one disturbed their little reunion that night and listening to all the mischief the boy had gotten up to in their absence had lifted his spirits briefly.

Then today they'd caught everyone up on what cut the vacation short. After the messenger he'd sent from Goodneighbor, there'd been no news and folks were anxious to hear what else had transpired. He played it cool while they told the story like he wasn't in agony reliving it. He even humored Garvey afterward and sat through hours of updates on all the settlements. Who was building what, which supplies were in greatest demand, where he needed them to go next. Thankfully, Nora took the reins with most of it and told her second in command that they weren't going anywhere for a long while yet. It took a massive amount of willpower to nod, smile, and pay attention to what was being said to him that day.

Now, however, it was night. Nora was getting Shaun to sleep, and the cowboy was on patrol - no one needed him. It was his turn to fall apart. As he headed over the bridge, he reached into his coat pocket pulling out a box of Mentats and then putting them back. _I need less thinking tonight, not more._ He dug around a bit until he came up with a small red canister. As he inhaled deeply, everything went blurry. His steps slowed as he waited out the initial wave. When things returned to normal he felt slightly fuzzy around the edges, it was a good start but not enough. The walk to Red Rocket wasn't long, but he managed to empty two more canisters along the way. It might have been overdoing it a bit, but he had to get his fill before reaching his destination. There were no chems allowed at Rocket.

The Red Rocket gas station had been settled by an enterprising gal who'd turned the place into a combination bar and hotel. She had a few folks working for her growing crops out back, cooking, serving drinks. She'd even scrounged up a pool table and set it under the extended roof that stuck out from the main building. It only held three billiard balls, so patrons used them to knock over empty Nuka bottles. He and Nora always kept an eye out for more. That wasn't what he was after tonight though, and he made his way inside. The bartender and owner greeted him cheerfully, "Hancock! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Nora with you?"

"Nah Cait, she couldn't make it tonight. You still got any of that rum left?" When she turned to retrieve it, he dropped a bag of caps on the counter, "Tell ya what, lemme have whatever's left. Bottle and glass, I'll take 'em outside. Thanks, sister."

He made his way to a far corner of the lot - practically underneath the towering billboard - hoping the distance from the crowd would deter people from trying to socialize. The bottle Cait had sold him was mostly full, it was his lucky night. The first glass he poured disappeared in one gulp. He felt the burn of it all down his throat, and two more glasses followed. But neither the Jet nor the rum was able to completely erase the thoughts that had been swimming through his head. _It was hard enough walkin' around knowing she was gonna die long before me, but I accepted it, because what else was there to do? I couldn't change it any more than I could make the night longer or the day shorter. It was just a fact. But no, turns out it wasn't. There was something I coulda_ _done._

Those guards he'd palled around with had said it felt odd that the raiders were still hanging around, like they were scouting the place. He hadn't given it a second thought because that was just what raiders did. If he'd known what was behind those crumbling brick walls, he wouldn't have left. He'd have stayed and helped defend it until Nora could convince Cabot to share that serum with them. He bitterly chuckled as he poured himself another glass. _Yeah, and then you'd be in the ground full of lead just like all those poor saps that got mowed down when that gang hit them. What you think you're so special you coulda single-handily turned the tide there?_ No there was nothing he could have done, but that knowledge wasn't easing his vexation. His glass was empty again somehow, so he refilled it.

_It's goddamn twisted to dangle that hope in front of us and then snatch it away. Not only to take it back but to make it our decision, now that's fucking cruel._ When he went to pour the next glass, he found to his dismay that the bottle was empty. Before he could attempt to push himself up to return to the bar, however, a familiar robotic voice said, "Hey there, pal. Would you like a cold one? Or did you want to hear a joke?"

"Well don't you have im-impec- fuck it, great timing there Buddy, sure gimme a beer." He could never bring himself to drink this stuff sober, but he was far from it tonight, and Buddy's ability to chill this swill made it almost tolerable. Two bottles disappeared, and he found himself asking Buddy for a joke.

"Chemically speaking, alcohol _is_ a solution." The robot replied with its odd inflections and tin voice.

"Hell yeah it is, lemme have another there Bud."

"All right, I think you've had enough, handsome," Cait was suddenly in front of him shooing the walking distillery off. "You'd best be heading home now, whatever trouble you're trying to drink off here will still be there in the mornin'." He wanted to argue with her, and tell her she didn't know what she was talking about and that he'd deal with his problems however he damn well pleased, but he knew better. Cait of all people knew about drowning your demons away. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure which one of them would win if it came down to blows. So, he hoisted himself up and took his leave.

Walking back in the cool night air helped clear his head up quite a bit, but he was still weaving some as he crossed the bridge back into Sanctuary. The few people he passed on the way down the street waved and smiled. He returned the courtesies, _Just good ol' Hancock, coming back from a tear at Rocket, that's all. I've got my shit all together._ As he got closer to his house he heard raised voices from inside, Nora was arguing with someone. He stopped just outside the door and listened. It was Garvey she was yelling at. They never fought- it was eerie almost. _What the hell happened while I was gone?_

"Gener- Nora, you don't understand. Mamma needs to stop using that junk all the time. The chems are making her sicker each time she takes them, maybe you don't see it, but I do. If you talk to her she'll stop, I know it. She listens to you."

"She listens to me because I respect her judgement about what's best for her Preston. No, you listen for a second. We're all going to die someday, might be stepping on a landmine or getting impaled by a radscorpion, it doesn't matter. Old age isn't a given these days, and I'd think you would know that better than I do. She's lived in this hellhole longer than any of us, that had to have taken a substantial amount of grit. I'd say she's earned the right to get fried and relax. She's not hurting anyone, so why not just let her live her life?"

The debate continued inside, but Hancock stopped listening. She was right, and about a lot more than Mamma Murphey. It didn't matter whether they grew old together or got eaten by Super Mutants next week. What mattered was that they were together now. This thing they had going was better than anything that had ever happened to him, and he was dwelling on a fuckin' pipe dream. He'd been brooding over it so much so that he'd taken off without a word. He knew that kinda stunt was just the sort of thing she'd been anticipating outta him from day one, and she'd worry herself sick. In the moment, however, he scarcely cared.

The door flew open, and Garvey started to storm out, "Hancock, I- I didn't know you were out here."

"Just got back Cowboy. Thanks for opening the door for me, such a gentleman."

Hancock closed the door behind him and walked over to Nora. She had her arms open long before he got there and they wrapped themselves in each other. With his face buried in her hair, he mumbled, "I'm an asshole, shouldn't have left tonight without saying anything. I'm sorry love."

"It's alright, you needed it. Honestly, I expected you to go off last night, so points to you for holding out the extra day."


	12. Chapter 12

Six months went by, and they stayed, mostly, in Sanctuary. The first few weeks they'd spent relatively mundanely - tending crops, helping with any repairs that needed doing, and taking guard shifts. After a while, however, she started to get the urge to be back out in the world. Sitting on the sidelines had never really suited her, and she knew quiet suburban life wasn't precisely Hancock's cup of tea. Luckily, Sturges finally came up with a plan for a sustainable water heating system so they'd gleefully headed out to scrounge up all the scrap he needed. After that, she started working with Preston on ways to encourage more self-sufficiency in the Minutemen. It began with more delegation on her part, insisting the local units deal with minor problems on their own rather than call for her. She'd paid a visit to Ronnie Shaw asking for any input the old veteran might have to help them put a better system in place for selecting the next General. After watching their beloved Minutemen fall apart once, both Preston and Ronnie were eager to help try and find ways to prevent it from happening again. The next step was working towards changing the perception of synths. But it was here she came up short. Not even Deacon or Dez had any brilliant ideas there. The two Railroad agents were focused solely on relocating and keeping as many synths safe as possible. It was infuriating but there wasn't much she could do other than wait and hope an idea would present itself.

That morning she woke up sandwiched between Hancock and Shaun. At some point in the night, he must have crawled into bed with them. It was something he did every so often, and at times she wondered if maybe he was a bit too old for this type of thing. But then she'd think about Father at this age, or younger, looking for comfort at night in the Institute - the scientists he'd been raised by weren't exactly the nurturing type. So she just hugged Shaun closer to her and kissed the top of his sleeping head. Behind her, she felt Hancock shift and then his arm wrapped around them both as well. She smiled and sighed contentedly. This moment was perfect, and she wanted to savor it for as long as possible. Then Dogmeat came bounding into the room and leapt across all three of them. With a chorus of oof's and groans, they were up.

"Why couldn't you have gotten a cat?" Hancock asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ooh, you want a cat? Because I've been dying to bring home all those poor strays we see out there. We can get cats if you want them."

"You know what, forget I said anything. Dogmeat here is just perfect." Hancock patted the shepherd's head affectionately before shoving him aside so he could stand.

"Hey Mom, Sturges said I could help him fix the spotlight that's out on the front gate today. Can I head over there now?"

Nora smiled picturing Sturges getting roused out of bed by her overzealous tinkerer and replied, "Why don't we eat something first?"

They all headed into the kitchen to start making breakfast. She got out some radscorpion eggs to make omelets, and after putting coffee on the hotplate, Hancock went to help Shaun chop up mutfruit. As they did, they continued their ongoing terrible joke contest. Shaun was just the right age for Hancock's tamer material, and the two were always trying to one-up each other. Shaun had just told one so bad that Hancock had to set down his knife in a fit of laughter. "That's a good one Sparky." He'd given Shaun that nickname after countless gadgets had, well, sparked or exploded on him. When he'd caught his breath again Hancock said, "Now, I gotta top that, let's see. What did one forgetful Yao Guai say to the other?" He paused then said, "Bear with me here, I'm trying to remember."

As she brought the plate of omelets over to the island she saw Shaun roll his eyes, "I can Bear-ly contain my laughter."

Then it was her turn, "You two are un-Bear-able! Where is Preston when I need him? Surely there must be a settlement somewhere that needs my help!"

Almost as if her words had summoned him there was a knock on the door followed by Preston calling, "General, you up? There's someone here asking for you, says his name is Jack Cabot."

Her head shot up looking at Hancock and found he was giving her the same look of astonishment. As she went to open the door she heard him saying, "Hey Sparky, why don't you head on over to Sturges's. Man should be awake even if he ain't, ya feel me?"

Nora hardly had the door open before Shaun bounded out, nearly knocking Preston and Jack over. As he ran across the street, he hollered "S'cuse me!"

She looked at the two men on her doorstep and turned sideways so they could come in. Both of them looked exhausted. Preston, she guessed, had been on one of the graveyard shifts at the gate. Jack had to have been traveling all night to arrive this early in the morning. She noticed Jack eyeing the extra plate of omelets and fruit on the island. "Help yourself, Jack, I made more than enough. You too Preston." They both served themselves and then wordlessly dug in.

After pouring everyone coffee, she sat down opposite Hancock at the table, watching them and not knowing what to say. Jack stopped just short of licking his plate clean. When he had scraped the last crumb off, he launched into a rambling speech. "Mother's dead, she didn't last long without the serum. Emogene left, she didn't even care. Now Edward is missing! I didn't know where else to go. You showed me where this place was and so I... I came all this way alone I'll have you know!" For him that was quite the accomplishment, she was aware. In the two centuries since the world had ended, the farthest he'd gone from his home had been the Asylum. It was no wonder he was exhausted and starving; clearly, he had not been prepared for this trip. "You have to help me find Edward. I don't know what to do without him."

"It's alright, Jack. We'll find him, but slow down and start from the beginning. Wilhelmina is dead?"

He took a deep breath and nodded, "The serum was the only thing keeping her alive I'm afraid. Once we stopped taking it, she aged much more rapidly than I'd anticipated. You see after everything happened Edward, Mother, and I agreed that I should use what was left to try and synthesize a formula that was... permanent."

_Oh no, Jack. Don't go and get our hopes up again, not after last time._ She glanced at Hancock seeing him go perfectly still, the hand holding his mug suspended just in front of his face. Quietly and without turning towards Jack, he asked, "And did you?"

Jack shook his head, "Unfortunately no, and I used up much of the serum trying. It would be completely gone except, Edward found some more on the bodies of those men who broke into Parsons. Emogene left shortly after that. She said she wanted no more part in our family's 'obsession with immortality.' I assumed she would come back just like always but, this time it seems she truly did leave for good."

Nora noticed the flecks of grey in Jack's hair that hadn't been there six months ago. The effects of his serum were wearing off, and he was beginning to age. If what had happened to Wilhelmina was any indication, it would progress more rapidly as time went on. Why would Deegan have left knowing this? She asked, "What happened to Edward? How do you know he's missing?"

"He's been gone longer before, certainly, but he always finds a radio or a passing caravan to get word back to me. After we found the extra serum, Edward told me everything he'd heard about this Institute." She watched Preston startle at the mention of the Institute, but Jack didn't seem to notice. The fact that he was talking so openly in front of Preston at all was a testament to how exhausted he must be, both from journey here and from worrying over Edward. Jack pressed on, "He'd heard a rumor that one of their scientists had gone rogue and left before you two destroyed it. Edward thought that if he could find this person, maybe they could help me with the formula. Two scientific minds being better than one."

She nearly choked on her coffee, "Virgil, he went looking for Doctor Virgil? Jack, he could be anywhere in the Glowing Sea right now. There'd be no way for him to contact you, and the odds of us finding him would be," she trailed off not wanting to finish the thought.

Jack squared his shoulders and sat up straighter, "Edward spent a long time sussing you both out before he approached you, and he had a rough idea of where to find this Doctor Virgil." His pride in his lover was evident as he continued telling them the plan Deegan had laid out to him before departing. Nora had to admit it did seem like he had all his bases covered. So what had happened? She supposed that was what they were going to have to discover.

"We'll head out first thing tomorrow," she held up a hand as Jack started to protest, "I know you're worried, but it's going to take us most of today to prepare. Not all of us run around the Commonwealth without any supplies." She smiled after that last bit so he'd know she was teasing him. _Maybe leaving that house will do him some good, provided he doesn't get himself killed._ She had to laugh at the irony that she was having similar thoughts to what so many others probably had about her at one point or another. Then she asked Preston, "Do we have any empty beds for Jack?"

Preston shook his head, "No, but Mamma Murphey's house has that - what did you call it - Mudroom? That small space just off the living room no one wanted, it would be big enough for a bed, but not much else."

"Alright let's see if we can't put a bed in there. Jack, you're going to love Mamma." Fixing Preston with as stern a look as she could manage this early in the morning she said, "Obviously, everything said here doesn't leave the room." The Minuteman nodded his agreement, and then she turned to Hancock, "Looks like we're heading back to the Glowing Sea love."


	13. Chapter 13

He looked over Nora's shoulder as she pulled the hazmat suit out of an old trunk. That thing held a lot of good memories for him.

  
They had spent the better part of a month trying to figure out a way to get her safely through the Glowing Sea the first time around. Nora's initial thought had been the Power Armor Sturges brought back from Concord, but she couldn't control that hulking metal suit for shit, even after weeks of practicing. _I still can't figure out how she toppled the thing over on it's back._

She'd been struggling like an overturned radroach trying to get up. If it hadn't been for Sturges and Preston helping, and a tiny bit of Buffout, he never would have gotten her upright so she could exit the thing. As it was, by the time they righted her all three of them were in stitches. When she came tumbling out she was, understandably, pissed as hell. _If I live a thousand years, I'll still get a kick outta Preston's face when she told us all exactly what we could eat._ When he'd walked through the door to her house, he decided that, as with most things in life, humor would probably be the best approach. "Pure curiosity, why are they in a bag?"

"Oh, just shut up," she'd grumbled, and began digging through her backpack. He saw her toss a couple of boxes of Mentats and some Med-X on the coffee table before finding the Jet she'd been looking for.

He'd bent over the back of the couch to pluck the canister out of her hand. "Nah sister, you don't need that right now. It won't do you any good this way; you're too pissed off."

"I'm fucking useless is what I am." She'd slumped over with her head between her knees.

_She was taking it hard and who could blame her? Possibly the only guy with a lead to finding her son was in the middle of an irradiated nightmare, and she couldn't use the only tool we had to get her in there. If that was me I'd have been reaching for a lot more than just some Jet._

He'd plopped down next to her, "Now aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?" Then tentatively placing a hand on her back he added, "You're a lot of things, but useless ain't one of them. Although I'd had my doubts when we first hit the road."

"Gee thanks Hancock, great talk." She'd made to get up, but he'd taken her hand and pulled her back down.

Once she'd been sitting again, he'd leaned back draping an arm along the top of the couch and turning so he could face her. "Hear me out. It's real rare these days to find someone who's not just willing to take things as they're handed to them." He'd told her then about what happened when his jackass of a brother took over Diamond City, and about everything that came after. His frustration of being the only person who could see how screwed up things were, until he met her. "Now I know I run my mouth, but having someone who sees the world for what it is, and is willing to do something about it, it's meant a lot to me. I feel damn lucky to have you as a friend."

Nora had leaned back resting her head on the couch and, coincidentally, his arm. She'd turned to look him in the eye. "And that's what we are? Friends?"

He hadn't expected the conversation to go this way but, he was ever the opportunist. "Well now that you mention it, I have been having slightly more impure thoughts than usual," he'd decided to test his luck and leaned closer to her. When she didn't recoil he'd added, "Maybe we'll get to, ah, act on those." Their faces had been just inches apart. He'd seen her begin to close that distance when a pounding on the door caused them both to jump.

"General are you in there? I just got word from a settlement that needs our help!" Preston's muffled voice intruded from outside.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She'd yelled as she walked around the couch to get the door.

"No, you're not. Thanks to Preston Cockblock Garvey!" He'd shouted the last bit at the door, wholeheartedly hoping the Minuteman had heard him. She'd swatted the tricorner hat right off his head for that before heading outside. When she finally came back in, he'd asked, "I guess we should probably head out huh?"

"No, it can wait until morning."

He'd known he shouldn't test fate trying to recapture whatever it was that had happened earlier but, knowing better had never stopped him before. "In that case, we're gonna have dinner, like a proper date."

Nora had raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? I didn't take you for the dinner-date type."

He'd put a hand to his chest in mock offense, "I'll have you know, I'm a ghoul with very high standards." Then he'd smiled, "Besides, you don't have a bar in this two-bit town of yours, sister. So I'm workin' with what I've got."

He'd made them plates with some leftover radstag, and instamash, and poured them each a glass of wine. After he'd sat down, something she'd said to Doctor Amari popped into his head, and he couldn't resist. "Now what you should do is get yourself turned ghoul, then you really could waltz into the Glowing Sea naked." He'd tilted his glass at her, and she had obliged by clinking her own against it.

"Or I could find a hazmat suit instead."

He'd snapped his fingers and pounded the table. "And I know where we're gonna get it! Becky Fallon used to have one in that cavern of a clothing store. Afterward, we can ruffle some feathers in the upper stands, whadya say? I'll buy you a drink."

It hadn't worked out quite so conveniently. Becky had sold the hazmat suit some time ago, or so she'd claimed. He still wasn't sure the old broad hadn't been lying just to spite him. Nora had been even more exasperated as they'd climbed the stairs out of Fallon's. He knew something that might cheer her up though. "Hey, at least we can still go piss off some stuck up assholes - and get drunk while doing it!"

Even that had backfired. Inside the Colonial Taphouse, they walked into some kind of domestic dispute between the owner of the bar and two of his patrons. After watching the jilted husband get his ass kicked, they'd at least gotten their drinks. Unfortunately, the bar fight had upstaged them, and they didn't get the shocked reactions he'd been hoping for out of the rich snobs. He'd still bought her a few rounds and tried to salvage the day as much as possible. As they were leaving she'd seemed to be in better spirits, however, they were still no closer to getting her into the Glowing Sea and back out again alive.

On their way out of town that mouse who'd been on the losing end of the barfight approached them. Turned out since he couldn't get the guy to leave his wife alone himself, he wanted their help. It had bad idea written all over it, but luckily, Nora had persuaded him that she'd handle it herself. After that, it turned into a madcap chain of events that had ultimately lead them to Marowski's chem lab. It had tickled him to no end that they were ripping the guy off, Marowski was a constant thorn in his ass back in Goodneighbor. It had felt damn good to give the guy a little back. The first thing he saw once they'd busted in was hazmat suits. Hazmat suits everywhere on all of the poor saps working inside. They'd made sure the last of 'em had stripped before taking him out, couldn't have the thing full of holes.

  
His pleasant trip down memory lane was interrupted by Nora asking, "Remember how we got this?"

"Of course I do, at the chem lab. You'd finally taken me someplace nice."


	14. Chapter 14

The Glowing Sea was still badly in need of a bar. _Would need a ghoul crew to run it. Have to pitch that at the Slog next time we're there_ , as he thought this a radscorpion burst from the ground at his feet. Letting out a string of curses, he shot the thing right in its beady eyes. _Gotta find a spot that's not infested first though._ He kept his mind busy locating a decent plot for his imaginary bar. If he didn't, he'd start to speculate on whether Virgil might be able to help Jack with that harebrained scheme of his. The guy managed to turn himself into a Super Mutant and back again. Someone that talented would have to be able to find a way to extend the duration of that serum. Of course, the good doctor hadn't exactly been thrilled with them after they lit up the Institute. He shook his head to clear it. No, he wouldn't go down this road again. Not before they'd even found the man. It'd been bad enough the last time, having this possibility dangled in front of them and then ripped away. He wasn't going to think about it. What he was going to do, was give a name to his new bar.

He yelled, "Whatdya think of The Glowing Deathclaw?" In the green haze, he saw Nora crouch down and look about frantically. He realized his mistake immediately, out of context that question woulda unnerved him too. "No, Sunshine," he put a hand on her shoulder, "to name a bar out here."

Her breath puffed out and fogged up the helmet of the hazmat suit. "Damn you, scared me half to death. You're still dreaming up that bar?"

He shrugged, "Beats the alternative. How are you coping with this foolhardy jaunt we're on, love?"

"Oh me? I'm as serene as this wasteland, hun." Another radscorpion burrowed out in front of them. After putting it down, she added, "By which I mean, not calm at all."

_So much for taking the edge off before we headed in, chems don't seem to be keeping either one of us tranquil._ As they cleared a ridge, he spotted movement in the bright water ahead of them. He held one hand out, stopping Nora. They both hunched down as he pointed to what he'd seen. The shallow lake was full of ferals. Far too many for them to take down. On the one hand it was a good thing; this was one of the landmarks they used to keep themselves on track in here. On the other, it was a lake full of goddamn ferals. If even one of those things saw them, it would bring the whole mob running. Staying low they began making their way, slowly, around the rise surrounding the water. On previous expeditions, they'd doubled back down and gone around. Woulda been safer to do that now, but if they did, they'd lose what little daylight was able to penetrate the eternal green clouds. Nighttime in the Glowing Sea was not something he wanted to ever need deal with. They'd caught a break in the constant thunder and lightning overhead; it masked the sound of their steps. Being seen was the only concern. So gradually, bit by bit, they made their way keeping as low as possible.

His thighs were burning something fierce by the time they made it far enough that he felt confidant straightening up again. He turned, heaving a sigh of relief, to check that Nora was alright. Halfway around he came face to face with a feral. One had wandered farther over from the rest, practically on top of the rise, and it was lookin' dead at him. Hancock started to stagger sluggishly backward, hoping it would mistake him for another one of the pack. The thing peered at him for a second, then began to turn back around.

"Hell, I thought we'd never get around for a second there," Nora's voice came from his side. The helmet, he knew, blocked her peripherals. Apparently, she hadn't seen the wandering ghoul. It spun and charged at the sound of her voice and, from the water, the rest began to follow.

"Run. Run! Fuckin' leave it, run!" He yelled as she shot the one coming up on her. They both turned and ran then.

He could scarcely make heads or tails of things in this gloom during the most uneventful trips - fleeing from a swarm of ferals he didn't even try. Fortunately, Nora dashed ahead of him yelling, "Cover me!" She had her pip-boy lit up and right in front of her face, using its map to navigate. Now that being stealthy was off the table, it made sense. He followed the glow of her screen and took out all the bloatflies and bloodbugs that were drawn to it.

Behind him, he could hear the growls and footfalls of the horde. _Must be a massive number if I can hear 'em over the radstorm._ He spotted the path that led up to Virgil's cave just ahead, but there was one last obstacle in the way that they'd always crept around before. "Hey, what're you planning to do about the-"

She kept sprinting up the path, right past the sleeping Deathclaw, and he had no choice but to follow. At their passing, the massive beast woke up and gave chase. Mercifully they didn't have far to run. The mouth of the cave grew larger as he approached but, it was not accommodating enough for the lizard to follow them. He saw Nora stop a ways into the cave. She leaned against the wall breathing heavily, and joining her he asked, "So now what? We sit tight until the ferals rush us in here?"

"No, just wait." She cocked her head to the side and pointed back the way they'd come. As he listened, he heard the Deathclaw roaring, but it sounded farther off. She passed in front of him, creeping back towards the entrance, and he grabbed her arm to stop her but, she shook him off, "C'mon, I want to see."

When he glimpsed what was going on outside, he had no words. The ferals were swarming the Deathclaw, and they were losing. The beast was sweeping through them effortlessly; cutting through dozens of them at a time and devouring them as it went. He'd never witnessed anything like it. As he watched in awe, the powerful monster wiped out ghoul after ghoul with ease. When all the ferals were relocated to its stomach, the beast slunk back to its napping spot. He turned and kissed the helmet of Nora's hazmat suit. "That... was one hell of a plan Sunshine!"

"I wasn't entirely sure it would work," she laughed. "Ready to have a chat with our favorite Institute scientist?" But once they were past the turrets, it became apparent the cave was empty. They'd come all this way, and no one was home. He watched Nora poke around, "Looks like Virgil's been gone a while. Maybe he left something to indicate where he went."

Hancock shook his head, "With as paranoid as he was, I doubt it." He leaned against Virgil's makeshift desk, his hand accidentally landing on the keyboard of the terminal. _Who uses a stove for a desk anyway?_

He saw Nora's eyes light up across the room, "Hancock, look." She pointed at the illuminated screen next to him. Every other time they'd been here the terminal had a password screen up. Neither one of them were any good with hacking, but it seemed someone had done the work for them. "Deegan must have gotten into this looking for Virgil," she guessed as she began rifling through entries of the terminal. It was a bit of a leap in logic there, but he'd take it, anything beat wandering aimlessly in the Glowing Sea. After a moment he heard her say, "Got it."

Bending over he read the entry:

  
_I can't stay here any longer. If that Vault Dweller could find me here, the Institute will surely follow. She couldn't have destroyed everyone. Sooner or later someone will remember to come looking for me. But where can I go? Perhaps, yes, there were records of several Vaults scattered around if memory serves. One seemed to be still intact, 81 I believe it was called. If I can reach it, it should suffice to hide me from... everyone._

  
He stood up and looked at Nora. Something in his brain was buzzing about the number of that Vault, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Finally, he asked, "81? Why does that sound familiar?"

He watched her eyes roll upward as she thought, "Some of the traders have mentioned it, I think. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Vault 81, wonder what fuckery went down in this one."


	15. Chapter 15

Coming up the hill towards the entrance to Vault 81 Nora saw Deegan stirring a pot suspended over a fire pit. She called out to him, "We've been looking all over for you. Jack is worried sick." At the ghoul's expression, she added, "He's getting a bit grey around the temples, but other than that, and the concern for you he's fine. We set him up at Sanctuary."

He looked relieved at that, "Thank you. I suppose he also told you what or, who, I'm after? I tracked Virgil here but, these sons of bitches won't let me in to talk to him! I've been out here - seems like forever - waiting for someone to come out or go in so I can get the guy a message." He put a hand on the back of his neck and tilted his head up, "No one has passed through in months. I couldn't even get word back to Jack, there's a radio in there, but it's busted. Was afraid if I left to find a way to contact him I'd miss my shot here."

That pretty much summed up why there'd been no word from him at least. Seeing him so ruffled was odd. Deegan was always so stoic, but now he was in obvious distress at the thought of failing to secure Virgil's help. _No wonder, since it's possibly the only thing that'll keep Jack alive._ Out loud she said, "Well, let's see if a fellow Vault Dweller can gain access."

She was able to talk their way into the Vault, although arriving with two ghouls did cause a bit of a stir. Fortunately, Overseer McNamara appeared to be an uncommonly reasonable person and allowed both Hancock and Deegan to accompany her inside. That didn't mean the rest of the dwellers were happy about it though. Several guards gave them glowering looks or made comments about trouble at their passing. As she followed McNamara to the elevator, a cat ran past them, and then a guard yelling, "Ashes come back!"

Nora spun around trying to assist in the cat wrangling, but Deegan stopped her, "Time is of the essence here. Could you let them handle the damn cat?"

Begrudgingly she agreed and got on the elevator heading down. Before they'd taken two steps off a young boy, cute as could be with a mop of light brown hair, ran up to them asking if she was really from the Commonwealth. She heard Deegan sigh as she answered his questions and then the boy offered to take them on a tour of the Vault. Despite a grumbling ghoul behind her, she agreed. Then she reminded her impatient friend that they'd need the goodwill of the people here to help convince Virgil to leave with them.

Amazingly, everything seemed normal inside. The people appeared happy, if tired. She picked up bits and pieces of conversation as they went, from what she heard things were frequently breaking down and needing repair, but considering everything here was over two centuries old that wasn't much of a surprise. Given what the residents of her vault went through, not to mention the things she'd read on the terminals in Vault 95, she had been expecting the worst. It would seem her fears were misplaced, however, and she was pleasantly surprised. As they continued the tour, Nora found herself wondering, _What would it have been like if we'd been placed here instead of 111?_ Smiling she pictured Shaun attending school in the bright blue classroom with the other vault-kids. He and Austin appeared to be about the same age; they'd probably be fast friends. An image of Nate in his vault-suit flashed across her mind, _Oh, Nate. He'd still be alive if we'd been in here... No, we'd have died a long time ago and, I would never have met Hancock. I'd have been dead centuries before he was ever born._ She mentally scolded herself, _Dwelling on what might have been_ is _a recipe for misery, stop it._

It was at the medical lab portion of Austin's tour where they ran into Doctor Virgil. "What are you two doing here?" He practically yelled at them, moving behind a gurney as if it would shield him. He wouldn't listen to anything she or Hancock tried to say. All he did was interrupt them claiming they'd killed so many innocents inside the Institute and he wanted nothing to do with them. It had gone much the same way the last time they'd tried to contact him. Finally, Nora promised they'd leave him alone if he'd listen to Deegan's proposal. Since there was no quarrel with the ghoul, Virgil agreed.

"C'mon Austin, didn't you want to introduce us to your friend?" She asked their pint-sized tour guide. Austin's friend Erin was just as excited to meet the outsiders and had a slew of questions for them, but the last thing she asked was if they'd seen her cat. Nora frowned, silently cursing herself for letting Deegan stop her from grabbing the cat before it ran out of the vault. Upon hearing that Ashes had left Erin begged Nora to help. She claimed no one else would be willing to go outside to search for it. Feeling partially responsible for the cat's escape in the first place she agreed to help.

As they got on the elevator again, Hancock asked, "We're seriously going cat hunting at a time like this?"

"Deegan is going to need to wear Virgil down. We might as well do something useful instead of sitting on our asses, right?"

Finding the cat proved to be a bit of trouble. Erin had thought the poor thing would be so scared that it wouldn't travel far. So they searched all the shacks just outside the vault entrance first but had no luck. "Now if I were a cat, where would I go?" Nora wondered out loud as she peered into the cab of a rusted out van.

"To a fish-packing plant," she heard Hancock call.

She opened her mouth to give a biting retort when the glint of light on water caught her eye through the chain link fence surrounding the little camp. "You might be right," she responded instead. "It's probably down by that lake hoping for a fresh fish dinner."

They searched the two houses closest to the hill but, found only festering bloatflies and bloodbugs. Doubling back they went to check the far side of the lake. Ashes was lying in the sun on one of the piers. Nora walked up slowly with her hands out, "Easy Ashes. I don't wanna hurt you. I'm going to take you home to Erin. C'mon Ashes."

The cat allowed itself to be picked up, thankfully. Hancock walked over and began rubbing its head, and Ashes started to purr. "See?" He said taking it from her, "We shoulda got a cat."

As they headed back to the vault, she said, "Still can. Next stray I see."


	16. Chapter 16

McNamara stole his thunder as he and Nora were heading in to return the damn cat. He'd had a miniature grand entrance and speech forming in his head, something he hoped that kid Erin would get a laugh out of. Next thing he knew Miss Overseer was telling them that Austin had gotten sick while they'd been gone, and something about a molerat. _How did a molerat even get in here?_ He followed Nora down to medical and heard Penske, Austin's grandmother, in heated conversation with Doctor Forsythe before he'd even cleared the door. From what he could glean, the molerat that bit the kid had been carrying some kinda nasty virus that was hitting hard since Austin was just a child. Not even Virgil had a guess as to what it was. _Now that's sayin' something considering all the shit they studied in the Institute._

Throughout the debate, another vaultie had been trying to get a word in. Finally, Hancock heard him blurt out, "Doctor Forsythe please, I think I found something that might help Austin." After that, he had everyone's attention. Bobby told them that the kid had found this hidden door, and subsequently been bitten by the molerat, because of him. It seemed he stashed his chems in a secret section of the vault and Austin had seen him retrieving them. "It's like a whole extra vault in there, but half ruined and caved in." He continued saying that he'd poked around on a terminal in there and found entries about molerats being used to grow viruses but, also vaccines.

Penske's eloquent response almost made him split his sides laughing. As that woulda been profoundly unwise given the gravity of the situation at hand, he attempted to cough as a cover. At the same time, he watched Nora hide a smirk behind her hand. Once he'd composed himself, Penske asked if they'd be willing to help by venturing in there to see if there was a cure. There was no question in his mind that they were gonna help. _These vault dwellers have never hadta fight their way past anything. I wouldn't put odds on a one of 'em to make it past a pack of virus-carrying molerats._ Deegan said he'd stay behind to help the folks with the medical know-how do their thing as efficiently as possible. He couldn't argue with that since Forsythe stressed that time was not on their side here. That left him and Nora to follow Bobby to the reactor room. He watched as the guy kicked what looked like just another section of wall but, when he did it slid upwards revealing a hidden door. _Well, that's Vault-Tec for ya. Can't just make something nice._

On the other side, it was precisely as Bobby had said, a second vault but old and crumbling. This place was everything he'd been expecting on the other side, the air was stale, and the lights flickered. He followed Nora in and passed through what had been the sleeping quarters. The waves of tension were rolling off her, she hated vaults like nothing else, and he couldn't blame her. Taking point, he headed past what had been a cafeteria, and finding a section where the floor had been thoroughly dug away to dirt, he stopped. The smell was palpable; there were very few things that were worse than the musky scent of a molerat den. He knew after not too long he'd get used to it but, until then things were going to be, pungent. Rounding a corner he saw a lone molerat milling around in the dirt, over his shoulder Nora aimed, and she quickly and quietly and dispatched it. _Nothing like killing things to set the mind at ease._ He waited a moment, listening for others to come scurrying out at them, but all stayed silent. Nora cautiously advanced through the room and up a set of stairs on the far end, and he followed, glad to see her confidence back. As they reached the top, he heard loud guttural snarls as the pack he'd been expecting burst from the ground beneath them.  
The first few came rushing up the stairs towards them, and he knocked them back with a blast from his shotgun. Nora's rifle went off and he watched a few more drop before one of the injured ones began barreling right at him. He heard her shot ping off the railing as it missed it's intended target. Luckily, he'd finished reloading and brought his gun up just as the molerat leapt at him. The blast tore it apart. He listened for a moment, but that appeared to be the last of them.

Nora started moving again, but before he'd caught up with her, a voice rang out around them. He saw her stiffen and start scanning for its source, seeing the terminal labeled "Hydroponics Lab" they both headed over. The closer he listened to the voice it was, indeed, Doctor Penske's. However she wasn't speaking to them or, it seemed, was even aware that her words were being transmitted. He turned to ask Nora if she'd ever heard of anything like this when he saw her hands were shaking. Deciding a distraction was in order here, he shrugged, "While this is damn curious, what's more concerning to me is - How come you never call me a Junkie Genius?"

Now that they didn't have to worry about offending anyone, Nora laughed openly. She put her hands on either side of his face and said, "You're a Junkie Genius, lover."

He gave her a quick kiss and pulled out his Mentat box, "Got all those nerves outta your system now?" Shaking the box open and offering her one he added, "Let's go figure this out."

They wound their way up more stairs and through a security gate. From somewhere behind a wall, he heard a wheezing snarl, presumably, coming from another molerat. Nora snuck into the room ahead of him trying to catch it unaware but, then more voices blasted out over another intercom, and he watched her almost drop her rifle in surprise. This time the terminal they found was labeled "Depot," and he could hear the two shopkeeps arguing. Yet another one spat out a conversation going on in the Overseer's office, this whole place was getting more and more bizarre. As they wound further down into this mystery maze, he started pondering what had been going on in here. _What experiment was Vault-tec running spying on their own people?_

He didn't have long to wonder however because more molerats burst out of the dirt floor and came charging at them. He blew through two of them before hearing sounds of scuffling at his side. One had jumped on Nora and pinned her gun between them. She was struggling trying to dislodge it, but the damn thing was huge and wouldn't be thrown. He tried to get a clear shot, but he knew if he fired with them thrashing around like that Nora would get hit as well. In exasperation, he yelled, "I can't shoot it if you keep moving it around!"

She didn't, or couldn't, respond, so he had to take matters into his own hands. He dropped his gun and reached between them, pulling the rat off her. As soon as it was up in the air, the rodent turned with surprising speed and buried its teeth in his arm. A howl of pain escaped him, and he let go of it entirely. The fuckin' thing stayed dangling from his arm, its teeth dug in deep. In a fury, he started punching the molerat until it finally let go. When it hit the ground stunned he stomped its head in muttering, "Damn vermin."

Nora was rummaging in her bag for a stimpack when he saw her head shoot up, "Oh shit, these things could all be carrying whatever Austin has!" She jumped up and put a hand on his forehead, checking for fever, then asked, "How are you feeling?"

Not skipping a beat he quipped, "Better if you'd stop dicking around and give me that stimpack." He smiled at her as he administered it into the wounded arm, taking the opportunity to asses how he did feel. His arm was burning like hell, but it had been bitten halfway through by a giant rat, so that was expected. However something else did feel slightly off, he wasn't sure what it was exactly, so he simply said, "Seriously, I feel fine. Maybe a bit light headed but, that could be Mentat related, not necessarily the bite."

After promising to tell her if anything changed he started poking through his bag for a smaller gun. All he came up with was a shitty pipe pistol, and he wished fiercely he'd grabbed Kellogg's gun again before they'd left Parson's. Then he reminded himself what that thing represented to Nora - it had killed Nate after all. No matter how reliable a weapon it was, it was probably better off rusting away in that Asylum. Out loud he said, "Until my arm heals up guess this'll have to do."

The area through the next door was full of small rooms with cages inside scattered around the perimeter. It looked like this was where all the molerats were originally kept. Many of them still called it home. Four came running out as they passed. Nora was able to kill two before they cleared the doorways but he only managed to down one with the pistol. The fourth he clipped in the leg, hobbling it, and Nora had to finish it off. "The sooner I can use my shotgun again, the better. Feels like I'm throwing pebbles with this thing."

She shot back, "This from the man who constantly gives me a hard time about my rifle attachment." He heard her tsk-ing and then, "What about adaptability? Needing to improvise?"

She had him there, even so, "Yeah, yeah. Just cuz I know all that don't mean I have to like it."

Upstairs a locked door and a terminal barred the way. After a few vain attempts to get into the thing she gave up, he didn't even try. Neither one of them had the knack for this. There had to be another way to go. Heading down the walkway past more cages he discovered what had once been a research station. On a desk were an unprotected terminal and a holotape. Nora sat down to browse the entries, and he leaned over, resting his chin on her shoulder to peruse as well. There were communications between the original Overseer and one of the scientists from this side of the vault. _Now ain't this interesting_ , he thought as he scanned the first one. Something had gone wrong, and the Vault-tec personnel hadn't gotten inside before the bombs fell - only three of them made it. The entries went on to talk about their testing antibiotics and mentioned something about "Phase II" trials. As he continued reading over Nora's shoulder he could feel her tensing up again, but she pressed on, and so he did as well. The scientists got ahead of themselves and tried to send a placebo vapor to the other side of the vault before they were supposed to and without warning. The messages from the Overseer were agitated and mentioned human testing. _So that's what all this was. The people in Vault 81 were meant to be used like the molerats to test whatever vaccine they were developing._

"Bastards," he heard Nora mutter as she continued to scan the old communications. It became clear the Overseer had felt the same way. The last entry was from the scientist begging for a response saying, _I never thought you'd actually leave men for dead._

He straightened up, "Good for that Overseer. Gave those Vault-tec fuckwits exactly what they deserved."

Nora turned around, and he barely heard her reply, "That's the only reason all those people are still alive. This was never meant to protect anyone. They were just lab rats like I was. I can't believe I actually thought there might have been one safe vault out here."

He kissed her forehead, "No good way to say it but, I'm glad you were in 111 and not any of these other shitholes. You wouldn't be here otherwise."


	17. Chapter 17

The holotape turned out to be the password to the locked terminal at the end of the hall. He punched it in, and followed Nora as she ran up the stairs that were revealed. At the top were three lockers laid on their backs next to each other with flowers and candles around them. On top of each was a neatly folded lab coat. "Three scientists, three coffins," she said solemnly. 

"Yeah, but who put the last one in there?" He cautioned, "Stay sharp."

They came to a windowed room, and he heard an accented voice ask, "Are you Vault-tec security? I've waited so very patiently for you to arrive." Looking through the window, he saw a Miss Nanny robot looking at them. Nora was eyeing him questioningly, but he had no more clue what was going on than she did, so he shrugged at her. She lied. The robot, Curie, reported that she'd finished her primary duties eighty-three years ago, developing a single broad-spectrum cure for the thousands of pathogens grown in the molerat hosts. _Well, how about that,_ Hancock thought, _all this fuckery was worth something after all._ Curie was asking Nora if she was authorized to let her out of the lab. He smiled at Nora's horrible bluff but, the robot seemed to buy it. _Or maybe she doesn't care and just wants out._ He felt bad for her being locked up in here, alone, for all this time. That was when he realized it must have been Curie who made the miniature graveyard over there. _Odd behavior for a bot._

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her saying, "However, be advised, there is only one dose left, and I can no longer make anymore."

He saw Nora glance at his arm and ask, "You only have one dose?" He waved his other hand at her, silently telling her not to even think of it.

"That is correct. There used to be more, but they all expired."

Well, that settled it then. He insisted that he was alright, the woozy feeling was still there, but it was nothing he hadn't worked around before. Austin had barely been conscious when they'd left, the choice here was simple. Curie followed them back into the populated half of Vault 81.

Doctor Forsythe looked relieved when Nora handed him the cure. "He's been unconscious since shortly after you left." Then he frowned, "But, only one dose? I hope this works. If it doesn't, there won't be anything to analyze to try again."

He watched the Doc inject the vial into Austin's side, and in short order, heard the boy mumble, "What...where am I?" He woulda sworn everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.

After Austin left with his grandmother, Virgil pulled them aside. "You didn't have to do that. You'd only just met the boy." Gesturing at Hancock, he continued, "And it looks like you got bitten as well, yet, you gave the one dose of cure to the kid. Why?"

He looked at Virgil and for the first time really considered how the man must see them both. They'd barged into his cave demanding information and then used it to destroy the only home he'd ever known. Sure, he'd had issues with how the Institute was operated, but it was still his home. He'd known a lot of the people in there, and chances are some of them could have been decent folks. _As much as I hate to admit it, if some asshole turned Diamond City into a smoking crater, I'd be hunting them down. And not to buy 'em a drink._ "Virgil you've mostly seen us at our worst up till now," he began. "Truth is we've got some making up to do where you're concerned. Sure we had our reasons for doing what we did but, hell, I don't blame you for having a poor opinion of us." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nora with her mouth agape staring at him. Wouldn't do to try and explain to her right now, so he continued talking to Virgil, "You got no reason to believe me but, what we did here today? That's what we try to make a habit out of. Only time we hurt folks is when they've earned it."

He saw Deegan walk up behind Virgil and assert, "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Also, that as we speak Jack is getting older, we need your help, now."

Virgil looked at all three of them and sighed, "It seems I won't be rid of any of you unless I agree to this. I'll go get my things." With that, he left the lab. Deegan followed to make sure he was, in fact, getting his gear and not trying to run off.

Once they were alone, Nora accosted him, "So what the hell was all that? I thought you were on board with destroying the Institute."

He wiped his forehead, he felt warmer than usual. "I was. I am. But I see his side of things too. Sunshine, imagine how you'd feel if some ass blew up your home-"

"Hancock...some ass did blow up my home!"

_How did I forget that?_ "Exactly, and how do you feel? If you had the chance, you'd slip a live grenade in their pocket and walk away, right? I was trying to win the guy over."

Whatever her reply was he couldn't make sense of it. Suddenly the room was spinning, and he needed to sit down. Everything started to get blurry, but he saw a Nora-shaped blob run to the door and heard her muffled shouting. After that everything was fuzz and shadows. Someone put pressure on his shoulder and then he was lying down on the bed he'd sat on. A sting in his arm, maybe a needle? _Let 'em do whatever they're gonna do. I need to sleep this off._ Then he closed his eyes, and everything was dark.

  
His sleep was dreamless, that at least was a mercy. When he cracked his eyes open again, he was greeted with a pounding in his head that rivaled every hangover he'd ever had. Putting a hand to his eyes as he sat up, he cursed the molerat that bit him all over again.

"How are you feeling Monsieur Hancock?" Curie was floating in front of him, her three eyes boggling around, and several of her metal arms poking at him. He mumbled something to the effect that he was fine and tried to brush her off but she persisted in her examination. "From the blood sample I analyzed, you seem to be regenerating your cells at a rate unmatched by normal human nucleic acids."

From somewhere beyond the white robotic mass before him, he heard Nora say, "What does that mean Curie?"

Before she could answer Dr. Virgil's voice broke in, "It means that since he's a ghoul, he's creating new DNA faster than the virus can destroy it. Essentially, after that first wave hit him, he's now stable."

Hancock chuckled, "Gotta love the perks of being me." Stabbing pain shot through his head again and he asked, "What about this headache though?"

Curie handed him a can of water, "That would be dehydration and poor nutrition. You should take more care of yourself."

He emptied the can, and his head began to ease up, "Ah, so it is a hangover then."


	18. Chapter 18

As they all crossed the bridge leading to Sanctuary Nora wondered what the guards on gate duty were making of their group. She and Hancock went first followed by Deegan, Dr. Virgil, and Curie. She'd agreed to let the Miss Nanny return with them to Sanctuary because not wanting to be stuck in a vault any longer was something she could wholeheartedly relate to. Along the way, Curie and Virgil had struck up an odd friendship. Both being medically minded Nora supposed she shouldn't be surprised but, something about Curie made her seem more than a typical robot. She appeared to be just as self-aware as Codsworth had become over the years but, there was something else. Nora couldn't pin down what exactly it was. In any case, it was good to see Virgil warming up to someone. He certainly remained icy with the rest of them.

As they passed through the gates, Shaun came charging up to them as he always did whenever they returned. He threw his arms wide to catch both Nora and Hancock in his hug, and they each wrapped an arm around him in return. Once he let them go Shaun started excitedly telling them what he'd been up to, "So you know that Tesla Arc Sturges has just sitting around his garage?" She nodded hesitantly as they all headed towards the house. "Well, I was messing around - trying to fix it - and I did!" He was practically jumping in his exuberance. "But, I accidentally turned it on before I meant to. It was zapping all over! Sturges came and disabled it again but, it burnt his eyebrows right off Mom. You've gotta go see, he looks so weird!"

Hancock ruffled his hair and was saying something encouraging, but before she could respond Nora heard a voice call, "Edward!" Jack shot out from Mama Murphey's house and immediately embraced Deegan. "What happened? You never sent word so I- I was so worried about you. You are not going to believe this woman they have me staying with!"

_Now that's a positive development if I ever saw one. He wouldn't have done that when we first met him._ Nora was grinning, watching the reunion when something struck her. Jack's hair had returned to its usual shade of black, the greying she'd noticed before they'd left was gone. Reaching her house, Nora unlocked the door and went inside followed by more folks than she'd hosted since before the war. Shaun headed off to his room, and everyone else milled around trying to work out seating. Poor Curie was hovering all over, bumping into everyone, not sure where to put herself. Eventually, she settled near the kitchen island with Virgil perched on one of the stools beside her. Deegan and Jack took the couch, while Hancock carried chairs from the table for the both of them.

Once everyone was settled she nodded at Jack, and he got up pacing as much as he could in her crowded living room, explaining to Virgil and Curie what his serum was, its origin, and how it worked. Then he went on telling them of his failed attempts to increase its duration. "Of course, finding a solution would be much easier back in my lab at Parson's Insane Asylum." Virgil started to bristle at the mention of the Asylum, but Jack went on describing the various equipment he had there. Curiosity quickly replaced Virgil's scowl, and the two started discussing all of Jack's gadgets with Curie interjecting here and there.

"Now this serum of yours, I'd have to take a look at it and run a few tests of my own but, it could be possible to extend its effects. How much of it do you have left?"

Jack looked a bit sheepish at that, Nora had her suspicions based on his appearance, and when he spoke, they were confirmed. "Not much I'm afraid and, less now than before." He looked at Nora and Hancock, "A few days after you two left I woke up completely grey. It was unnerving, and I had no idea when, or if, you all would return. So I used one of the doses that remained." Jack hung his head, "Emogene was right this whole time, it is an addiction of sorts but, what else was there to do? I didn't want to risk what happened to Mother happening to me! Not without Edward here."

Deegan put a hand on Jack's, "No one's blaming you for that. You did what you had to do."

Virgil interjected, "But it does make our job here harder, less material for testing means more guesswork-"

He was cut off by Curie poking him with one of her many arms. She added optimistically, "Regardless, with three scientific minds on the job, I believe we will be successful."

The decision was made to leave for Cabot House in the morning with time being of the essence. Jack excitedly left with Edward, gushing on about Mamma Murphey. Nora offered Virgil her couch for the night, and he begrudgingly accepted once they made it clear there were no other available beds. Curie didn't sleep so she set out to explore Sanctuary.

With everyone set for the night, Nora went back to check on Shaun. Popping her head into his room, she found him reading an issue of Tesla Science. "You know, most kids would be reading Grognak or the Unstopables." She plopped down next to him on the bed, "I like that you're not most kids."

He beamed a smile at her and rested his head on her shoulder. "I want to go with you when you leave tomorrow."

Nora felt her face go wide in shock. _Did he hear all that?_ It was a small house, with more than a few holes in the walls, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Even so, there were several hundred reasons why that would be a bad idea. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but she couldn't get her thoughts together to form a sentence. This was one of her worst nightmares coming true. Shaun out in the Commonwealth where anything could happen, and she couldn't protect him.

"I can handle myself out there Mom," he said, reading the concern on her face. "You and Hancock taught me everything about surviving out there but, it doesn't do me any good if I'm just stuck here all the time. Besides, you guys are gone so much. You just got back, and now you're leaving again so, take me with you this time."

From the doorway, she heard Hancock say, "Not a bad idea Sparky. It's about time you put all that learnin' to good use."

_Of course, he's on board with this_ , Nora thought bitterly. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Shaun had made good points, and if she looked past her initial fear, he was ready. Going out with the both of them, plus Deegan, it was probably the safest adventure a kid could have out there. She sighed, "Alright, start packing. Make sure to bring more than just books and gadgets, like a change of clothes."

With Shaun scurrying around getting himself ready, she stood up and headed to her room to put her own things in order. As she passed Hancock in the hall, he stuck his tongue out at her for the subtle jab at his packing skills. She splayed her fingers out and covered his entire face with her hand. Faster than she could see he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, running his other hand through her hair. Nora felt all the tension and road weariness melt from her body as he kissed her, and began walking them into the bedroom. Kicking the door shut behind them he said, "I think the bags can wait for a bit, don't you?"


	19. Chapter 19

Hancock had thought no one could ever complain as much as MacCready did, at least, that was until he set out with Doctor Virgil. From almost the minute they left Sanctuary the man snarked and bemoaned every little thing. The only time he stopped was when Curie would distract him with some scientific drivel and then they'd be at it for hours. Sometimes Jack would jump in as well and, at that point, he just walked a little faster to get out of earshot. Under other circumstances he might have found it fascinating but, most of their talk was about different experiments to run on Jack's serum. He wanted to stay as far away from that rabbit hole as he could until they had something substantial.

The kid was loving every second of this trip, however, and that made it worth putting up with the cantankerous Doctor. Shaun was having a tremendous time navigating with help from Nora's pip-boy. He had a knack for maps and landmarks as it turned out. He even managed to kill his first Mirelurk. Well, he had needed a bit of help with that actually, but he'd proven that he could stay calm in a panic type situation. _Give him a few more years out here, and he'll be holding his own just fine,_ Hancock found himself thinking with pride.

Every so often he caught Virgil eyeing Shaun like he was trying to pick the kid apart with his eyes, and it made his trigger finger itch. He wasn't sure if Virgil knew about Father's pet project but, from the way he occasionally watched the kid it sure seemed like it. _I'll be damned if I let some Institute bastard turn that boy into an experiment._ Sure the guy wasn't technically Institute anymore, but he had been. Those folks had their own set of fucked up priorities, and he wasn't going to let his guard down easily.

After two days, that felt like years, they arrived at Cabot house. Curie was off like a shot the second they got through the doors, marveling at the books and the various equipment upstairs. It was downright comical watching Jack and Virgil try and keep up with her as she hovered all over the house exclaiming at its contents. While they were occupied with the tour, he and Nora went upstairs to claim the bed they had used before. Shaun parked himself in the room next door, previously Emogene's. After that, they set him loose to explore the mansion on his own. "Whadya say we head down and raid Jack's liquor cabinet Sunshine?" Nora smiled at him, and they did just that.

Deegan joined them not too long after and eventually, the three scientists found their way in as well. Once they had all settled down Jack spoke up, "I'm afraid I need to ask a rather large favor of you all." He looked from Hancock to Nora, and then at Deegan, "We have come to the conclusion that it would be far more efficient to do our work here, rather than travel to and from Parsons. The equipment there, however, is vital."

Hancock could see where this was headed, "So you want us to muscle your microscopes over here? No problem."

"That's part of it, yes." Jack took a drink and continued, "I'd also like you to dismantle my father's cell and bring it, along with the Abramelin generators, here as well." He hadn't expected that one. The cell was massive, even taking the thing apart, it would be quite a feat to get it from Parson's back here. _What the hell does he want it for anyway?_ Hancock decided to ask just that. Jack sighed, "It's been part of my life's work, that cell, and those generators. I couldn't build new ones now even if I wanted to. With my father gone, it makes no sense to continue to guard the building, and I'd hate to think of some scavengers getting in there and turning it all into scrap."

Nora tried to dissuade him, "I can understand the sentimental value they have for you but, Jack, moving all of it could take a very long time."

"Not to worry, Madame," Curie chirped. "I have categorized all of the equipment and determined the most efficient order in which to bring it all back. Once we have what we need, work on the serum can progress, while you retrieve the non-essentials." There wasn't much arguing could be done with that.

The next day Hancock, Nora, Shaun, and Deegan began the moving process while the eggheads did what they could with what they had back at the house. Physically they weren't all that far from Parsons, and the first few trips back and forth with the smaller items was a breeze. They'd alternate who was lugging science paraphernalia and who was keeping lookout each time to spare everyone's muscles as much as they could. But after a whole day of this drudgery, Hancock was ready to chop off his hands so he wouldn't have to pick up one more test tube or bunsen burner ever again. Fortunately, at the end of the day, Curie informed them that no other minor equipment was needed. _Now we just gotta take apart a glass prison and transport it without breaking it. Goody._

Over the next several days they broke down Lorenzo's cell and the generator apparatus. It was a good thing Deegan knew quite a bit about the mechanisms. If it had been Hancock and Nora doing this alone, he woulda just pulled cables and bolts at random. According to Deegan that would have blown several of the circuit boards. Shaun was fascinated by the whole set up. More than once one of them had to stop him from poking a screwdriver around in the various doodads. "I just want to see how it works!" He finally exclaimed in frustration.

Deegan clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Tell you what, ask Jack when we get it all back to the house. I'm willing to bet he'll let you help put it back together." Shaun returned to disassembly in a hurry after that.

Once they'd gotten everything apart, a new challenge loomed; how to get the large panels of the cell walls out of the basement and back to the house. After a few hours of angling and cursing, they managed to get one on the elevator but, there was no chance any of them could fit in there with it. The panel came out much faster than it went in, saving Hancock's nerves from snapping entirely. He and Shaun headed up first and then waited for Nora and Deegan to load the panel again. Once it came up, they managed to remove it just as quickly. Nora and Deegan caught the next lift up, and they set off with the ungainly hunk of glass through the Commonwealth. Balancing the damn thing over the uneven and rocky terrain meant they were moving at a painfully slow clip. He could feel knots forming in his shoulders as the day wore on. _I know we got our rules about chems around the kid but, some Buffout would sure be welcome right about now._ When they were roughly halfway back, Nora called for a stop. She set her end down and tilted her head from side to side. Hancock watched her enviously as he continued to hold the damn thing upright.

"It's times like these I wish I could maneuver in Power Armor," Nora wistfully said as she took over stabilizing their cargo.

While Hancock was stretching he heard Deegan behind him, "I've used it before but, our last working suit ran outta juice a while back. I don't suppose either of you has a charged fusion core just laying around?"

Shaun came bounding over digging in his bag. When he produced a core, the look on Deegan's face made all three of them crack up. Shaun explained, "Mom brought it back for me in case I ever needed one to build something. I haven't found anything worth using it on yet but, this would be faster if we had Power Armor right?"

Deegan thanked them and then took off with the core back to Cabot's. Within the hour he came lumbering back in the bulky suit. He picked up the cumbersome panel like it weighed nothing and they all headed back in far better spirits. It was still well after nightfall when they returned. Deegan went to store the panel and the Power Armor while the rest of them headed inside. Shaun was yawning as he trudged up the stairs to his bed, and Hancock followed Nora into the kitchen. They didn't bother plating anything - they were famished. He watched Nora crack open an unlabeled can and begin pouring its contents directly into her mouth, while he tore into a box of snack cakes. Afterwards, they wandered into the living room for some liquid dessert but, before they'd crossed the room, Curie descended the staircase in what appeared to be a huff.

Beside him, he heard Nora ask, "Is everything alright, Curie?"

The bot turned as if she was just now registering they were there. Her arms went slack beneath her, and she replied, "On the whole, no. It is not." Curie told them that she'd spent a lot of effort gathering information since being out in the world and that she'd come to a grim conclusion. "It is not lack of data or lack of collaboration which stifles my scientific progress. The inescapable truth is there has never been a great robot scientist."

Hancock didn't know much about any of this, so he wasn't sure what to tell her. Virgil had come downstairs as well while she'd been talking, and he tried to reassure her but, she insisted that on their own robots were predictable. Hancock couldn't argue with her there. He'd known enough bots, and even the most intelligent ones had their patterns. Curie continued, lamenting that all the great minds had a spark of inspiration that she wanted for herself. He heard Nora telling her that if there was a way for her to do that, then she should. He mumbled an agreement and almost immediately regretted it.

"I must find a way to download all that I am into a human brain."

_How in the hell does she expect to do that?_ Before he could be so foolish as to voice that thought, Virgil said something much more tactful. Curie speculated that perhaps a brain surgeon or an artificial intelligence programmer might be able to accomplish what she was after. Hancock shook his head trying to think of anyone who fit that bill.

Nora got to it first, "Doctor Amari."


	20. Chapter 20

Nora was having second thoughts about leaving Shaun behind with Jack and Deegan but, he'd been adamant about staying to help put the generators back together. _Nothing I can do about it now. At least Virgil is with us. John's right, the way he studies Shaun - it's like he knows._ She opened the door to The Memory Den and they all filed in. Doctor Amari was aghast at Curie's request until she explained why she wanted to become human.

"A pre-war robot with your knowledge and skills, plus human cognition. Yes, you could potentially save many lives." Amari thought for a moment, "It's an interesting problem," she began to pace as she thought out loud. "The memories wouldn't be hard," she explained that transferring memories from the brain to a computer and back was how the loungers worked. "Her personality though... a normal organic brain wouldn't know what to do with it." She fell silent but kept pacing back and forth. Nora watched her until she started to get dizzy. Finally, Doctor Amari snapped her fingers, "A synth brain on the other hand, well, it's already somewhere between the two." She said that based on what she'd seen synths had enhancements that interfaced with their brains. She assumed that the Institute had found an interpreter for raw data.

Nora glanced at Virgil trying to ask without voicing the question. She didn't want to out him as being Institute but, if he had any information that might help she wanted to know. Virgil moved his head, almost imperceptibly, back and forth and then shrugged just as subtly. _Well, it was worth a shot._ Curie spoke up then, asking the Doctor if she thought it was possible.

Amari didn't have to think about it this time. "Likely even. We just need a synth, and I may be able to help with that."

She explained that the mind wipes she performed on some synths didn't always go smoothly. If anything went wrong, they could be left brain dead. Nora was slightly horrified to hear this. She knew many synths, after leaving the Institute, couldn't bear to keep their memories of that place and opted instead to have new personalities. The thought that some of those poor folks escaped only to be left comatose was heartbreaking. _All the more reason why it was good that we got rid of the Institute._

Amari was still speaking, telling them that she knew someone who was caring for a brain dead synth. She offered to reach out and see if they were willing to allow the transfer of Curie's consciousness into her. Amari's face fell as she continued, "She wanted a new life. I failed her. But this, this procedure might be as close as I can get to fulfilling her wishes."

She told them she'd need a day to get in contact with the caretaker, and so they all headed back to the State House. Nora's mind was racing as they climbed the stairs to Hancock's sitting room. _If Amari can do this for Curie, then maybe she could do it for Shaun also._ One of the things that kept her up at night was her concern over Shaun being stuck as a child forever. The thought of putting his personality and memories into another body would never have occurred to her. Amari had said synths, plural. If there were others, then there was a chance one would be a similar fit for her son. She wanted desperately to talk to Hancock about this but, she didn't dare with Virgil around. When he went to check in with Fahrenheit about the goings on in Goodneighbor since their last visit she decided to join him, hoping there'd be an opportunity to discuss things alone.

As she rounded the corner, she heard the tail end of Ren's report. "Y'know those raiders that holed up just past the Old Corner Bookstore? They've been getting uppity. Coming out in force and trying to find weak spots in our defenses. Nothing we can't handle but, since you're here, I thought you might want the job for yourself."

The three of them talked it over - this couldn't be their usual quick and quiet routine. This had to be a clear example of what happened when you trifled with Goodneighbor. Since they had a whole day to kill Hancock told Fahrenheit to get a group of Triggermen from the Neighborhood Watch together and meet them at the front gate. Climbing over the looming pile of debris in the alley was the only obstacle in their way, and everyone managed to scale it with ease. As they approached the camp, Nora saw a lone silhouette pacing on top of a wall. Hancock nodded at her, and she silenced the lookout. Once he was down, everyone swarmed around the barricades. They hadn't planned for turrets. As bullets flew through the air everyone scattered. Nora scurried behind the support wall of the lookout perch and had to duck as the wood above her head burst from turret fire. She heard a yell and turned to see a raider with large spiked metal shoulder armor running at her. Before she could react, he was hit by the turret and went down. Amid the chaos Nora couldn't help but chuckle, _Seeing their own traps backfire on them never gets old_.

Suddenly there was an explosion, and the barrage of bullets stopped. Someone finally got the thing. As she stepped out, she saw Fahrenheit barreling up the ramp unleashing a torrent of flames on the raiders above them. Nora followed, picking off the ones still left below. Just as quickly as it started, it was over. In the quiet, she looked around seeing only dead raiders and a few men from the Neighborhood Watch, but not all of them. "Where's Hancock?"

Ren looked around then also and quickly took charge. "You guys head down the alley and, see if you find them. We'll head inside Haymarket." As the two women ran to the door of the mall, she confided, "There should have been more raiders out here. I don't like John running off like this. Anything could happen."

"He'll come up with something if he get's ambushed."

"Yeah," Ren said with a grin, "That's what I'm worried about."

Other than a roaring fire in an old planter, the mall was quiet. Ren headed straight for the stairs and Nora followed. At the top, they were greeted by a raider with a missile launcher coming down the hallway. He fired and they ducked, the projectile narrowly missing them and crashing into the wall at their back. As the dust and bits of wall rained down, Ren stood up with her flamethrower ablaze. The fireball billowed down the hall and engulfed the surprised raider before he could get another shot off. "Back up, back up!" Nora yelled and began pulling the taller woman by the collar down the stairs. The remaining missiles burst from the heat and she found herself crouched a second time to avoid shrapnel. Circling the floor, they found it empty. Stairs in the back lead downward, or there was an elevator to head up. Without having to consult they both made towards the elevator. _He would have gone up_ , Nora wagered.

Immediately upon exiting the elevator, she heard gunfire. A door in the small lobby swung open, and Hancock backed out. The other two Triggermen who'd been missing followed him. Looking over his shoulder, he called, "Hey, about time my two favorite ladies joined this little party!"

They all moved as a group through the adjacent door into a hallway. All the raiders Fahrenheit had warned her about came pouring out into the lobby behind them. Most were wearing cage armor, making bullets, and the flamethrower, next to useless. In between shots, Nora heard Ren yell, "There's too many of them, and we're boxed in!"

Hancock ducked behind them all and reached up, flipping a switch on a laser turret Nora hadn't even noticed. "Run!" He yelled and took off through a doorway at the end of the hall. The two other men were behind him, sprinting up a fallen strip of ceiling, so they apparently knew what was going on. She and Ren followed and as they reached the top a massive detonation rocked the floor. Metal and cement flew everywhere as the turret exploded, taking out every raider that followed them into the hall. After that picking off the few remaining was simple.

The last one they left alive. With three guns and a flamethrower aimed at him, he put his hands up in surrender. Hancock walked in front of him and asked, "You know who I am?" When their prisoner nodded, he continued, "Good. Then you go run off and tell all your little friends," he moved closer until they were almost touching foreheads, "No one messes with Goodneighbor."

Nora watched as the two Triggermen marched the poor guy up the ramp and threw him out the door at the top where he was promptly eaten by a Deathclaw Matriarch who'd made her nest in the rooftop garden. They all stood for a moment, staring at the unexpected development, before closing the door to prevent the lizard from setting her sights inside. Shaking his head, Hancock sighed, "Damn. What a waste of a good performance."

It was unanimously decided to take the elevator back downstairs to try and meet up with the others. Once inside, Nora asked how Hancock had known about the turret. He and the two others began snickering. "Little trick Sparky showed me actually. How to rig those to blow on a timer, except with my own personal addition." The Triggermen were heartily chortling at this point. "I stuffed the inside full of grenades first."

Ren looked like her eyes might pop out of her head. "When the hell did you have time to do that?"

"When we got up here there was nobody around. I figured I could wreak a little havoc and give the boys here a show. Plan was to set off the timer and remove ourselves to a more limb-friendly distance. Then those morons showed up and ruined all the fun," he shrugged, "well, the fun was adjusted."

Stepping off the elevator Ren turned to Nora and said, "Gotta tell you, I almost miss these crazy antics of his." Then she stressed, "Almost."


	21. Chapter 21

While the others headed into the Third Rail to celebrate, Nora tugged on Hancock's sleeve and nodded towards the State House. He followed her with a quizzical look on his face. She headed upstairs and saw the sitting room was empty. She poured two drinks, and they sat down on the worn sofa. "If this thing with Curie works, I want to ask Doctor Amari to do it again but, for Shaun." She watched Hancock's eyes widen at the thought, and she continued, "I mean not right away, of course. But in, I don't know, five years or so? Think about it. He wouldn't have to stay trapped as a kid forever."

Hancock took a drink and thought a moment, "We'd have to keep him outta sight a lot, both before and after. Couldn't have folks seeing him one day as he is and then," he snapped his fingers, "next day an adult. It'd be tricky, but, doable."

"So you think it's a good idea then?" She had her doubts about the safety of the procedure. After all, mind wipes gone wrong were the entire reason they were even having this conversation.

"Yeah," Hancock nodded, "If she can pull it off with Curie I think we should at least ask her to think about it for Shaun."

From the doorway, she heard Virgil's voice, "So it's true then. Father really did it."

In a flash Hancock jumped to his feet in front of her, his hand going for his knife. "You sneaky Institute bastard. If you lay one hand on my kid-"

Virgil cut him off, "I have no interest in doing anything to the child. I'd simply heard rumors before leaving that Father was working on something of, questionable ethics."

She put a hand on Hancock's arm as she stood, silently telling him to ease up. She couldn't help but smile at hearing him say _my kid_ though. Addressing Virgil, she asked, "If you don't want to study him then why the interest?"

"Curiosity." He shrugged, "When you'd told me you were searching for your son I thought nothing of it. But seeing your boy and his similarities to Father, I began to put it all together." Virgil started walking, slowly, into the room, "I didn't know just how far Father would actually go. There was a lot of talk about that project of his, and it's ramifications. At the time no one could understand why he'd even want to do such a thing." He looked pointedly at her, "Now, however, it seems obvious."

She sat down again, and the two men followed suit. "Jack and Deegan are the only other people who know about Shaun. He doesn't even know himself yet."

"So you better keep your damn mouth shut," Hancock growled.

"There's no need for threats. You have my discretion. I hate to admit this but, it's admirable that you took the boy on knowing what you know. Not many would do that."

She was surprised to hear that sentiment from him. Most of the people she'd met inside the Institute firmly believed that synths were no more than cunningly designed robots. If she hadn't met a few escaped synths in her search and seen the so-called Robotics Department, she might have bought into that bull. Talking to them, and watching one built, bone by bone, and having muscles stitched into place, she couldn't understand how anyone seriously thought of these people as machines. Granted there had been a faction inside that agreed with her viewpoint. Desdemona had wanted her to play along and contact as many of those people as she could. Nora had wanted to help the Railroad but, she couldn't hold her tongue with Father. When they'd met after Bunker Hill, she'd been so angry that she told him exactly what she thought of the man he'd become. The scorn and contempt he'd shown when she broke into his quarters as the Minutemen were raiding the Institute nearly undid her. It had been heartbreaking to end things with him that way. Then Shaun had shown up, insisting he was her son, and begging her to take him with. How could she turn him away? Pulling herself out of her brooding, she looked at Virgil, "There was never a question in my mind about Shaun other than how to keep him safe."

She felt Hancock take her hand as she watched Virgil nod to himself, "Perhaps, you were correct in that we got off on the wrong foot."

  
The next morning they all headed back to the Memory Den. No one spoke much on the short walk over. Nora suspected that everyone was as nervous as she was to see what this caretaker had to say. As they descended into Doctor Amari's basement lab, she was shocked to see Glory standing in front of a prone figure in a lounger. Glory, for her part, looked equally astonished to see them. "So you're the ones who want to put a robot brain in G5-19? You know she's a synth. We're supposed to protect them."

Doctor Amari attempted to persuade her saying that G5 had wanted new memories and that this was not all that different, but Glory remained uncertain. Nora tried to think of what she could possibly say that would make the Railroad agent understand. The conversation with Virgil from the night before was still replaying in her mind, and along with it, her feelings about what Father had done in creating Shaun. He'd given her a chance to have the life that had been ripped away. Taking a deep breath, Nora ventured, "Her sacrifice will give someone else the gift of life."

Glory smiled, ever so slightly, and said she thought G5 would like that. Just as quickly she soured again, "Do it now before I change my mind."

Amari began immediately, by having Curie terminate all non-essential operations and establishing a connection between her and the terminal. Once the Doctor had access to Curie's memories, she began transferring them into G5's lounger. Within seconds Curie dropped to the floor lifeless. Nora started to run to the robot, but she felt a hand on her arm stopping her. Hancock pointed to the lounger where G5 was gasping and attempting to sit up. In a familiar voice, she said "My chest... what is happening?"

As Nora watched Doctor Amari talk Curie through autonomic functions, she wondered how many times Amari must have done this for other synths after giving them new personalities. After a few cognitive tests, she declared the operation successful. Curie seemed a bit shaken at first but, the more she moved and spoke the more chipper she became, much like her usual self. Doctor Amari warned that it might take some time for Curie to adjust to the transition fully and that they should all be ready to help her when needed.

Once Curie and Virgil had begun the ascent out of the Den, Nora hung back to talk to Amari. Having to explain about Shaun to so many people was making her extremely anxious. _It was so much safer when only John and I knew_. However, if she truly wanted to protect Shaun, securing him another body was the best thing she could do. After hearing everything, Doctor Amari shook her head, "Will you ever be finished asking the impossible of me? I was only in contact with Glory. I suppose I could put the word out, looking for someone who fits your son's description but, I can't guarantee anyone will respond."

It was the best she could hope for. She thanked the Doctor and told her she'd be in touch. With any luck, there would be one less thing on her plate to worry about in the next few years. 


	22. Chapter 22

Despite knowing what they'd set off to do, Jack looked no less astonished when they returned with Curie. He bombarded her with questions about the transfer process and the synth body. As Jack, Curie, and Virgil meandered off to the lab, Nora called, "Nice to see you again too, Jack!"

Deegan shook his head with a smile, "Don't take it personal. He's never been great with people." He ruffled Shaun's hair and added, "This kid of yours is a damn genius. He was down there all day figuring out how to speed up the reassembly of the containment unit. Jack said he couldn't have done a better job himself. Which, if you know him like I do, is high praise." Shaun blushed for a second before delving into a detailed explanation of the project that Nora couldn't quite follow but, she made appreciative noises in all the right places.

Once she and Hancock had settled in, she noticed him sitting on the bed with a bewildered look. "So, those three are gonna be focusing on the serum now but, what're we supposed to do?"

She gave him a mischievous grin and answered, "We, lover, are officially on vacation. Preston knew we might be gone for a while, so no one is expecting our help. We can kick back and enjoy Cabot House for a bit."

He didn't have to be told twice. Heading for the stairs, she heard him exclaim, "Finally, we'll get a crack at that pool table!"

The first few days were, in fact, a bit of a vacation for them. She began to explore all the titles on the many bookshelves in the house. Spying one she'd never read before it quickly consumed her attention. Shaun poked around until he found something that piqued his interest as well. They curled up on the living room couches and read while Hancock and Deegan played pool. In the evenings she would join them at the table.

It didn't last long, however. Once the three scientists had an idea of how they wanted to approach modifying the serum, they needed test subjects. Specifically, molerats. They tasked Nora and Hancock with capturing some so they could investigate their theories. What those theories were, none of them were ready to disclose. "Best not to jinx it," was all Jack would say on the subject. With Shaun's help, they built some traps and placed them in various locations outside the ruins of the city. Then it became a waiting game to see if any giant rodents would take the bait. When they did finally get one, Deegan set out in the Power Armor to carry the whole thing back to the house. Watching him awkwardly navigate down the basement stairs with the metal box, made more unsteady by the ornery molerat inside, Nora wagered, "I'll bet you ten caps he falls."

Hancock chuckled, "Have a bit of faith in Ed there, he's got this. Make it fifteen, and you're on Sunshine."

"Can I bet twenty that he just drops the cage?" Shaun requested, and in the end, he wound up forty caps richer.

  
Over the next few days they caught several more, and Deegan made additional trips to retrieve them. No one was allowed into the basement once Jack and his team started to work. It was making her intensely curious, _What could they be doing that they don't want us to see?_ She started questioning how far she'd honestly be willing to go in order to have a chance at the extended life they were trying to formulate down there. It went on long enough that she was beginning to think they might have to return to their normal lives and wait for Deegan to send word when, or if, they had something. It was disappointing but, she knew they couldn't play hookey here forever. As she headed downstairs to announce their departure, she saw everyone gathered in the living room. With Hancock and Shaun behind her, she headed in to meet them. Curie was beaming, which wasn't terribly unusual. Virgil was his usual dour self, and Jack looked nervous.

Jack began, "Unfortunately, there was no way to alter my formula to create a permanent effect. However, we came up with a procedure that we firmly believe will extend life indefinitely."

"I began ruminating on the unnaturally long lifespan of ghoul's." Virgil glanced at both Hancock and Deegan as he picked up the lecture, "From what I've been able to deduce, it is due to a mutation within the autonomic nervous system following exposure to specific combinations of ionizing radiation."

Curie added, "The radiation must have wavelengths below ten picometers. Similar to the type that are emitted by the generators in the containment field. Adjusting the generators to produce the correct type was no problem at all." Her eyes flicked to the ground briefly before continuing, "However, this radiation is normally lethal to humans, even in moderate doses."

Nora knew firsthand how deadly the radiation from those generators could be. _I don't think I like where this is headed._ She held up a hand to stop them. "This is all very interesting but, what does it mean?"

Virgil sighed, "It means we planned on administering a potent dose of serum and then hitting our subjects with massive amounts of gamma radiation. The hope was the serum's effects would provide enough of a buffer to allow the mutation to take place without killing the patient. The mutation, in conjunction with the serum's regenerative properties, would theoretically achieve longevity without the, ah," he coughed uncomfortably, "physical side effects of becoming a ghoul."

Beside her, Hancock scoffed, "Not everyone can handle being this pretty. But did it work?"

"Sadly, it did not," Curie said, and her face fell. Nora was reminded of her affinity for all the molerat test subjects back in Vault 81. No doubt she felt a similar affection for the rats here. "I am happy to report, however," she smiled at Virgil, and continued, "that I had a breakthrough!"

Curie described an experiment she'd done using a new strain of mutfruit to improve the restorative properties of stimpacks. "Since the mutfruit has a sugar compound that stimulates platelet production, using it in tandem with Jack's serum gave our subject the extra endurance she needed to survive the radiation."

Nora felt the beginnings of hope stir in her, until she realized, "So, there's an immortal molerat now? What are you going to do with it?"

"Yes, well, she survived the radiation but, died from cardiac arrest hours later," Jack shifted uneasily as he spoke. "Nevertheless, now that we're aware of that possibility, I'm certain we can prevent it from happening to either of us."

Now she was getting immensely concerned, and she wasn't the only one. Hancock began firing questions at them, "Hold up, why are we talking about you two doing this all of a sudden? Shouldn't you be running more tests to know for sure you've figured all this out?"

"In an ideal world, yes," Virgil huffed out his displeasure. "Realistically, however, we don't have enough serum. Jack insists we keep enough for three to undergo this procedure, so we can't run any more trials."

_Why three?_ Nora questioned before the answer hit her, _Emogene._ She looked at Jack and saw him gazing at the place where the portrait of his parents used to hang. This was the first time she noticed it had been replaced with one of his sister. _It must be lonely for him not having family around after being cloistered in here for so long._

She was brought back into the moment by Hancock, "You're not gonna blast her with gamma rays like we're in some damn comic!" He turned and put his hands on her shoulders, "You don't have to do this if it could kill you. We'll be fine the way we are."

Her gaze flicked between Hancock and Shaun for a moment before landing squarely on Jack, "How sure are you that you can revive me if my heart stops?"

"Reasonably sure," Jack shrugged and held out his hands, "It's not like the old days you know. What I wouldn't give for a defibrillator. A good jolt of electricity would certainly solve the issue."

Shaun, who'd been silent until now, speculated, "Would a Tesla arc do that if you could control where it zapped? Maybe with some copper wire, or something? I fixed one back in Sanctuary - we could use that."

All three scientists looked at him with varying degrees of excitement and giddiness. Curie began hypothesizing how simple it would be to manipulate the coils while Virgil nodded his head with the broadest smile Nora had ever seen on him. Jack walked over and hugged Shaun, "You're a clever lad, thank you." Releasing him, Jack continued, "No need to go back to Sanctuary. I've been tinkering with one myself upstairs for security purposes. It should do nicely."

Nora decided not to wait, if she thought about this for long it was likely that she'd change her mind. Once they'd rigged the arc, everyone headed downstairs into the lab. It was crowded with the containment cell taking up much of the room. Along the edges were the generators and, tucked into a corner was a table with all of their various instruments on it. How all three of them managed to work down here together was a wonder. Curie took her vitals and declared her to be in reasonable health. Jack talked her through the steps one last time and offered her a chance to back out. With one arm around Hancock and the other around Shaun, she shook her head. Giving them each a quick hug and kiss before stepping into the cell she thought, _If this doesn't work, I better at least get x-ray vision._

Jack injected her with the serum. Even though this was stronger than what the Cabot's had been using, he told her it was still somewhat diluted. She could feel it instantly, the energy and strength coursing through her. It was no wonder those raiders had sought it out so adamantly after discovering it undiluted. She made a mental note to tease Hancock later about the fact that he'd never get to try it. _First, the brain walk, now this. He never gets the fun stuff._

After administering the enhanced stimpack, Jack quickly exited the cell and began giving the generators commands to flood the compartment with radiation. She watched Hancock through the glass wall. He had an arm around Shaun that she guessed was far too tight, going by the look on Shaun's face. They were all she saw until her world went white with pain. It was sudden and worse than anything she'd endured before. She felt like her organs were on fire and simultaneously trying to escape her skin. It rolled in waves through her body one second and flared in intensity the next. She wanted to scream, but couldn't feel her jaw or anything for that matter other than this burning agony, perhaps she was screaming and didn't know it.

  
Then everything went dark.


	23. Chapter 23

Deegan had him in a death grip pinning his arms to his side, as he fought furiously to get to Nora. She'd been screaming like nothing he'd ever heard before, and shaking in obvious torment. Then she crumpled to the floor, unmoving. Curie was in there now lookin' her over, Virgil insisting he'd just be in the way but, he didn't care. He had to get in there and see her for himself. His thoughts were irrational as he continued to fight to free himself. _If she's dead, Shaun and I are gonna be the only ones walking outta here._

Finally, Curie stood up, "She is unconscious but, vital signs are good. There is nothing more we can do but wait."

The arms holding him loosened. Without thinking he turned and punched Deegan in the face before running into the cell. Curie was right; Nora was breathing but unresponsive. He felt someone else kneel down next to him and when he turned Shaun's tear-streaked face was next to his. Putting an arm around the kid, he demanded, "So what now? I'm not leaving her on the floor in this damn cell."

"It should be safe to move her upstairs," Jack offered. "We can monitor her just as easily up there."

After getting Nora up to their room, he and Shaun stayed with her all that day and into the night. As it got later, Shaun fought to stay awake in case there were any changes to her condition. Eventually, though, he dozed off. _Let him sleep - kid's had a rough day seeing his Momma go through that._ Not long after, Curie tip-toed in and offered to take over the vigil so he could get some rest. He had trouble sleeping under the best of conditions. A night like this, when Nora could check out at any second, he knew he wouldn't get a wink. So he wandered the halls, restless. Passing one of the dozens of bookshelves in the house he idly ran a hand over the covers when a name jumped out at him. He'd tucked this author into the back of his mind because Nora talked about him constantly. He pulled the volume off the shelf and began to thumb through it. As one piece, in particular, jumped out at him he leaned against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Jack's wail pulled him out of the book, "That's quite possibly the last copy left! You can't just bend the spine like that!"

He saw Deegan trot into the hall at the sound of Jack's distress. After hearing what the commotion was about, he put an arm around his lover, "It's fine. The book will survive. Remember we talked about empathy? Give the guy a break for tonight, okay?" With that, he steered a flustered Jack back to their room.

Not wanting to risk his host's ire a second time, Hancock took himself, and the book, downstairs. As he was pulling a bottle of whiskey from the sideboard, he heard footsteps on the stairs above, glancing up he saw Deegan heading down. "Sorry about Jack, he's trying."

Hancock nodded, "Yeah, he's very trying." Grabbing a second glass he added, "Sorry about the sucker punch earlier by the way."

His fellow ghoul rubbed his jaw for a moment, "No hard feelings. Matter of fact, I'd have done the same to you if it had been Jack in there first."

They toasted to that sentiment and Hancock took a drink. Looking for a distraction more than anything he asked, "Brother, I ain't the judging type, so this is pure curiosity. How did you two even happen, what's the deal there?"

Deegan smiled. "I was recruited the same way you two were brought on, except by Jack's former go-to guy. This was before the Great War, mind you. After a few years I caught on to some of Jack's sly looks but, you know him. He was so stuck in old ways he'd never come right out and say anything. Figured it was for the best. I'd taken a liking to him too but, didn't want to get mixed up with my employer. Bad for business back then." He refilled his glass before continuing, "Then everything changed, the bombs fell, and I got sick from the radiation. You know how it goes; first, you just feel a little off, and then your hair starts falling out. Not long before your insides feel like they're trying to eat you alive."

Hancock nodded, it hadn't gone quite that way for him exactly but, close enough. As Deegan passed him the bottle, he recalled, "Everyone thought I was dying. Hell, I did too." He looked up to the top of the stairs saying, "Jack was with me the whole time, and I thought 'What's the harm in telling him now?' So I told him how I felt, and he did the same. All that time wasted, it would have been a damn tragic way to die." Then he shrugged, "Except I didn't. Once it became obvious that my condition was, stable as it were, then everything changed again."

_So that's what Emogene meant when she said Sunshine hit them close to home. Damn._ They continued making small talk over the next few hours. Hancock related some of his favorite escapades with Nora. The drinks came and went, and he found his mood lightening with each story.

"So there we were, both of us full on colonial. You've gotta see that General's uniform of hers, it's one helluva getup! Anyway, her Minutemen were just eatin' it up. Buying us drinks the whole night." He held his glass up in a mock toast, "Retaking the Castle! Hip, hip, and whatnot. Then fuckin' Garvey of all people - Mister Cowboy himself - has the nerve to say we look like a couple-a pirates!" He couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "Nora turns to me and says, 'If we're pirates, then let's go swashbuckle up on top of the walls!' Everyone took off up the stairs. It was a wonder no one got trampled." He walked over to the pool table, picked up one of the sticks, and began brandishing it like a sword, "She never stood a chance. I love that woman but she ain't worth a damn in close combat. I'm coming at her, and all she can do is back up like this," he held the stick in both hands and waved it back and forth. It earned him a hearty chuckle from Deegan. "Kicked her ass and then some but, she didn't care one bit. Told me later that night it was important to her that those folks who signed up never took her too seriously. 'They need to know if they're going to fight and die for this cause they've put me in charge of, that just because I'm leading them doesn't mean I know what the hell I'm doing.' Her words."

He returned to the sideboard and picked up his glass. As he emptied it, he remembered what else transpired that night. "That was when I told her I was done running from all the good shit that came my way. Someone like her- she was worth sticking around for. Course, she didn't believe me at first, hell, I don't even blame her for that." He held his arms wide, "But here I am! Never regretted a second of it either." It wasn't long after that he felt the urge to return to his room and keep an eye on his family. He bid Deegan a good night, picked up the book he'd found, and headed back upstairs. Once he relieved Curie of her watch, he started to read again - this time taking care of the spine. Several hours later, as the sun poked its way into the room, Shaun woke up and he began to read aloud. _Just something to do to keep us both occupied_ , he told himself.


	24. Chapter 24

She was floating through memories as they were blurring together. One moment she was getting coffee with Nate on their first date, and the next she was shooting Gen 2 synths in that same coffee shop. She cheered in the stands as "The Missle" Murtagh threw another strikeout pitch, and then she was standing in the city built within the diamond, telling Piper about being frozen in the Vault. 

Park Street Station, she had to catch the train or else she'd be late for her interview, no. No there was another reason.

A bullet whizzed past her head as Piper was trying to warn her about heading into the Commons. In the firefight that ensued, she'd backed right up against the fence surrounding Swan's Pond. She had never seen a Super Mutant before, and as the behemoth rose out of the water, she was almost dumbstruck. It had been all she could manage to yell for Piper to run before taking off herself. They'd zig-zagged between cars and darted down streets at random to try and shake the lumbering monstrosity chasing them. Several times she barely managed to dodge the boulders Swan was throwing at them. She rounded a corner, and Piper was bent over breathing heavily, saying she couldn't run anymore and just to let Swan eat her. But they'd lost the mutant and Nora had noticed a glowing sign.

Her mind played snippets of her college days, giggling with friends as they came down to Scollay Square for the scandalous burlesque shows.

Then she and Piper were arguing outside the Third Rail about taking the warehouse job from Whitechapel Charlie. She had needed the caps, and the favor it was likely to win her with Mayor Hancock. Watching him stab Fin had shown her all she needed to know - he was the type of person who did what had to be done. Someone like that would be invaluable in her hunt for Shaun.

She flashed forward to one of any number of nights she'd laid awake reminding herself not to get too attached to him, that'd he'd most likely leave her in the morning. Trying to convince herself that it was just as well because if they weren't close then, it couldn't hurt when he decided he was bored with her. She fell for him anyway, in spite of all those warnings, and he'd proven her inner skeptic wrong time and again.

She could hear his voice telling her that he loved her, that she was the best thing he had. Then what he was saying changed. She knew it had to be the dream because those words were from before the war. He couldn't possibly know them. She began to feel her body again, all pins and needles. She was so tired, all she wanted was to sleep, just a few more minutes. His voice grew even stronger, and for a moment she lay there listening to Hancock recite that poem from so long ago.

"For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore— Nameless here for evermore."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw him, sitting by her bed, his head bent over an enormous hardcover book. Glancing around the room, she spied Shaun, his eyes on Hancock as he read. She tried to speak, but her voice came out hoarse at first, "Where- where did you find that?"

Hancock startled and dropped the book, it landed on the floor with an audible thud. "Holy fucking shit, you're awake!" He looked over at Shaun, "Go get the brains, Sparky. Quick!" Then he was kneeling next to her, holding her hand. She squeezed as hard as she could, which wasn't much, and asked again, "Where did you get that? And how long was I out?"

From the doorway, she heard Jack, "From my collection, and the better part of two days, if you can believe that. We were beginning to worry."

Curie hovered over her, blocking her view of anything else, performing various checks and tests. She drew some blood and passed it behind her, "Brian, please take this and start analyzing it." _Brian?_ It took Nora a moment to realize Curie was talking to Doctor Virgil. _I don't think we've ever used his first name, it sounds so odd._ A light shone directly into her eyes, and she heard Curie gasp, "Mon Dieu, Jack come and have a look at this."

Two shadowed heads bent over her. Both of them exclaiming about what they saw. Nora got tired of it very quickly, "I'm not one of your molerats. Let me sit up, and eat something, I'm starving. Then tell me what the hell is going on."

As Hancock got her food and water, Curie, Jack, and Virgil went to study her blood, skin, and hair samples. When he'd returned with a tray, Hancock explained what had gotten them in such a tizzy. It seemed her eyes had gone hazy, much like Deegan's. As she looked for herself in a hand mirror, Nora wondered if they had turned her ghoul after all. A few hours later everyone was gathered around her bed.

"Well, you're not a ghoul exactly," Jack told her. "You're Ghoulish is the best word for it. Apart from the ocular corrosion, you appear to be in good shape. Your cells are regenerating at a rate similar to Edward's or Hancock's so, our conclusion is the treatment worked - just not entirely as we expected." He assured her that he didn't think any further degeneration was likely, given how his serum was designed to halt the effects of aging. Only time would tell, however, if she'd keep her current vitality or if she'd wither like every other ghoul.

It didn't take long after they all left, for Shaun to pass out next to her. _Poor kid, this whole thing must have been hard on him._ She ran a hand through his hair as she and Hancock talked. Smiling wryly she asked, "Are you still going to love me if I end up losing my smooth skin?"

He laughed softly, "Yeah, you caught me. I only love you for your skin, and your ass."

"You're an ass," she knocked him sideways with a nudge of her shoulder.

He slid down until his head hit the pillow and began idly running a hand up and down her arm. "That book's got some pretty twisted shit in there, Sunshine. We read it most of the way through. I like it."

"I knew you would. When I'm trying to remember it all, it simply doesn't do it justice - you have to read it for yourself." She looked out the dark window, wistfully, "I only wish Daisy could get up here to see all of these. She'd fall in love."

After a moment of silence, she looked over to see that Hancock was out like a light. She knew he'd sleep like the dead for at least the next twelve hours, it happened every time he kept himself awake for long stretches like this. For a moment she sat with a hand on both their heads, grateful for their constant presence in her life. Then she tried her best to settle down and get some rest as well, but her body was having none of it. After being unconscious for almost two days, her legs desperately wanted to move around. So, very carefully, she extracted herself from the bed and crept out of the room.

She grabbed some wine from the kitchen and curled up on the sofa with the book Hancock had found. It had been ages since she'd read it, and as her eyes flew over the familiar words, she found herself transported. Several glasses filled and gone, she kept reading, trying to memorize every page.

"Nora, I'd hoped you would still be awake." Looking up she saw Jack in the doorway, "May I speak to you for a moment?" She waved him over, and he sat opposite her. "The third dose of my serum, I wanted to entrust the vial to you, in case you run into Emogene out there, should she change her mind that is."

He held out the syringe and she took it. "I'll keep it safe but, why are you giving it to me? Wouldn't it be better to stay here with you?"

"I won't be here for much longer. Tomorrow I'm going to go through with the procedure myself and, whether it works or not, I plan to travel." He looked around the room, "I've been cooped up in this house for far too long. Edward and I will leave as soon as I'm recovered. If we're fortunate, we'll only return here to visit."

She assured him that whatever happened she'd keep an eye out for his sister, and let her know the option was available. "But, even if I see her and she does want to go through with it, who's going to operate the generators?"

Jack smiled, "I've programmed them to run automatically when given a password. Emogene will know it, tell her that it's the name from my login screen." He looked up at his sister's portrait and chuckled, "She thought she pulled the wool over my eyes, but I knew about her little foray into hacking. It gave her so much amusement that I played along, even had RobCo out to pretend to investigate the issue. Oh, how she gloated over that!" Shaking a mocking fist in the air, he laughed some more, but slowly he frowned. "She found so little joy throughout the years, that I had to find some small way to make her happy." When he looked up at Nora, his heartache was evident, "I miss her. Please tell her that also, if you find her."

Nora wondered if his seeming indifference when Emogene ran off was, in fact, an act. His way of putting off Wilhelmina in order to gain his melancholy sister time out in the world that raised her spirits. She wasn't about to ask, so she'd never know for sure. Instead, she promised again to keep a lookout, but this time with more resolve. She had no idea if Emogene would change her mind, but she deserved to know everything that had transpired and all that Nora suspected, she planned on giving the woman an earful.

He seemed appeased by that, and as he got up again he added, "Oh, and please, keep the book. As a matter of fact, feel free to stay here and peruse the whole library whenever you wish." She looked at him in disbelief and, he nodded at her. "I've seen you and your family pouring over them, though Hancock needs to take more care in his handling. Once I'm away the books will be no good to anyone locked up in here, you might as well enjoy them."


	25. Chapter 25

As they tromped down the stairs with their bags, she heard Hancock ask, "Do we really gotta leave?"

Nora held a small metal object above her head so he could see, "I've still got the key, and Jack said to come stay whenever we want. Consider this our new vacation home, love."

"But why does the vacation have to end, is what I wanna know."

She stopped short at the foot of the stairs because Curie was pacing by the door, bag in hand. When she saw the three of them coming down she implored, "Please, let me come with you. Brian, he wants to return to the Vault. He says it's not safe to wander around in the open. He is my very close friend, and I wish for us to remain together but, I will not return there!" 

At that last, Curie stomped her foot on the ground, and Nora had to hide a grin. Curie was a brilliant scientist, but when it came to human emotions, she was still learning. _In many ways she's so very much like a child. That stomp was adorable._ She thought about pointing out that the relationship with Virgil seemed more than merely a friendship but, in the end, she decided to let it go. It was a lengthy enough step that Curie was willing to label anyone a friend, let alone a close friend. If she wasn't ready to call what she had with her colleague anything other than a that, then it was her choice. Nora didn't have to think twice before inviting her back to Sanctuary, however.

They were heading out the door when Virgil came huffing downstairs with his belongings. He scanned their group, and his eyes landed on Curie. "I would have thought you'd come to your senses by now."

Curie looked back at him, and her face was equal parts anger and sadness, "As I thought you might. Goodbye, Brian."

With that, they left Cabot House. They didn't get far though before a voice behind them called, "Wait!" Turning she saw Jack sprinting to catch up with them. _Funny how his eyes turned jet black like Hancock's and mine didn't._ He was breathing heavily by the time he reached them. "I'm glad I caught you. Shaun, I wanted to give this to you."

What he handed Shaun was the oddest gun Nora had ever seen. Small, but with a round pronged disc on its end, and the middle appeared to have glowing green vials in it. "Jack, what the hell is that?"

He smiled and said, "My own invention. It won't do much damage I'm afraid. You won't be blowing holes in any raiders with it, but molerats and bloatflies beware!" The two laughed and started to banter about the various other uses the gun might have. _I suppose if it's mostly harmless it'll be alright. Last thing I need is Sturges losing his eyebrows again._

They said their goodbyes to Jack for the second time and headed out. Curie was still sulking, and Nora heard Hancock ask if she was having second thoughts about joining them, "It's not too late you know, if you wanna catch up to him."

Curie adamantly shook her head. "No. I simply cannot understand why he would want to return there. It is stagnant, no new data, no inspiration. Working together was so stimulating, I had thought that we would travel together-" She trailed off and turned her head away.

Nora decided to add her two cents in, "Sometimes, friendships don't always turn out the way we'd like them to. I know you hoped Virgil would come around but, some people just aren't made for living out here." She glanced at Hancock and added, "You have to find someone who can keep up with you."

"Perhaps, you are right." Curie nodded and changed the subject, "Hopefully I am able to contribute more than just my new stimpacks. They are a wonderful start but, I wish to make more of an impact on the world."

The idea hit Nora so hard she almost stumbled. _Curie is a synth. Curie is an adorable, personable, synth. What if we set her up with her own caravan? Have some Minutemen guard it, and she could travel as much as she wants._ No settler or scavver with half a brain would refuse one of her stimpacks, and she'd be out there gathering all the information she could handle. The more Nora thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Once folks saw Curie and realized what she was, but more importantly, saw who she was, it was possible they would change their minds about synths. _Or at least Curie, for a start. Like what happened with Nick in Diamond City._ If enough people were swayed, there was potential for more synths to feel comfortable living out in the open. _It would domino, just like it's happening for the ghouls._ Of course, Curie would benefit from the arrangement as well. She'd be free to roam wherever her heart desired in relative safety. Nora decided it couldn't hurt to pitch the proposition.

"Curie, I think I know of a way you can help."

Over the course of their trip back to Sanctuary, she outlined her plan. Curie was elated, and after not much thought had some ideas of her own about what she'd need to pull it off. By the time they arrived Nora had a long list of essentials she handed off to Preston to take care of. _Now, isn't that a pleasant change,_ she chuckled to herself. 

The bed that had been Jack's during his stay was now occupied by another stray that wandered into town looking for a safe place to call home. Nora supposed she shouldn't be surprised by that, but it meant at least for the time being Curie would have to sleep on their couch. That first evening she was brimming with ambition about her new calling, "If what you say is true, about the opinion of synths in the Commonwealth, then it is imperative I do what I can to improve this. Not only for myself, but for your young Shaun as well, no?"

Across the room, Nora heard Hancock's shocked expletive, and watched Shaun frown, "Mom, what is she talking about?"

_Dammit Virgil, he must have said something._ It was not how she wanted Shaun to find out, but she couldn't cover it up now. If she did, he'd only feel more betrayed when she did tell him. As Curie apologized behind her, Nora took Shaun back to his room. "What do you remember about the Institute, before you came to live with me?"

He sat down on his bed and was silent for a moment, "Not a whole lot. I think, maybe, school? Someone old anyway, teaching me how to take things apart and put them back together again. I do remember for a while I stayed somewhere else, Mr. Kellogg brought me comics and let me listen to the radio as much as I wanted. I liked that."

She felt like she'd been slapped. _Father left Kellogg in his brain, that son of a bitch._ Part of her wanted to set the record straight on who Kellogg was, and what he did, but part of her knew that doing so would only make this more upsetting for Shaun. _He liked his time there - it's a fond memory. Probably why it got left. Who am I to take that from him?_ She decided this bit of the truth anyway, could wait for another time. 

"There's a reason you don't remember much." Previously she'd told him a cleaned up version of their story, in which he'd been kidnapped as an infant from the cryopod, and she'd stayed frozen for another ten years. "I didn't exactly tell you the whole truth, but I did it to protect you. You have to understand that." As she corrected all the white lies in his history, Nora felt like her guts were tying themselves in knots. All she could do was hope that he'd understand. "I promise you, from now on, I'll only tell you the truth."

She watched various emotions play across his face, some she could read, other's she couldn't. When he finally looked at her again, he nodded, as if coming to a conclusion. "So, when you let Jack blast you, that wasn't only so that you could stay with Hancock, was it? It's because I'm never going to grow up."

Her eyes were stinging, and she took a breath to calm herself. He wasn't mad, he didn't hate her. Or at least, he wasn't focusing on the negative right now. "Yes. You were, even more, the reason I went through it." She debated how much to throw at him right now, but wanting to ease any concern, "And you have the option, possibly, to age in a way. I spoke to Doctor Amari, and you could do what Curie did if you want to."

Hours, and several hundred questions later, Nora said goodnight to Shaun and plodded across the hall. As she flopped, face first, into bed she heard Hancock sigh, "What a fuckin' day." She felt his hand begin to rub her back and she rolled over closer to him. He began to kiss her neck and muttered, "At least we got plenty more."

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in a very long time, so this may be dusty. The idea just got stuck in my head and I had to flesh it out.  
> Edited: Got it all posted!


End file.
